About Ryo

I've spent over 1,500 hours talking to AI in the past year — from a small, depopulating town in rural Kyushu, Japan.

Not as a researcher. Not as a tech reviewer. As someone who couldn't sit in a chair, couldn't go to work, and had no other way to stay connected to the world.

A herniated disc took away my ability to sit. AI gave me back a way to think, build, and work. This site is the record of what happened in between.

What I've Built With AI (While Lying Down)

Since my herniated disc in 2025, I've used ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude daily — three to ten hours a day, for roughly one year. What started as coping turned into rebuilding.

Using Claude's Cowork mode and voice input from bed, I built:

• This entire website — a WordPress site constructed, configured, and populated through AI agents, without once sitting at a desk
• A growing library of articles — covering herniated disc recovery, financial survival, career disruption, and AI-assisted productivity. Currently 15+, with the goal of 100+
• An ongoing technical series — documenting exactly how to build a WordPress site using AI agents, for developers and AI practitioners. 5 parts published so far, with more in progress
• A personal framework — for productive AI use vs. AI dependency, tested over 1,500+ hours

I didn't plan to become an AI practitioner. The circumstances forced it. But 1,500 hours of daily use across three major AI platforms gave me something few people have: deep, practical knowledge of what AI can and can't do — learned through necessity, not curiosity.

How I Got Here

The Disruption

I spent a decade in human resources at a Nikkei 225 company (one of Japan's top publicly traded corporations). HR operations, HR business process outsourcing (BPO), employee health management, and HR system design. I built my career around making organizations run efficiently and keeping people healthy and productive.

Then my body stopped cooperating.

Lumbar disc herniation. Sciatica severe enough to make sitting impossible. I went from a corporate office to extended medical leave, and eventually had to leave the company. Now I'm recovering in a quiet rural town in Kyushu — the kind of place where the population shrinks every year and the nearest convenience store is a drive away.

No income. No title. No structure. My social world collapsed to my family, my doctors, and a ceiling I stared at for months.

The Rebuild

In that void, AI walked in.

For the first six months, I used it for escape — asking "when will I get better?" on repeat, seeking reassurance I couldn't get from the real world. That phase produced nothing except temporary comfort.

The turning point came when I changed what I asked for. Instead of comfort, I asked for structure. "Organize my thoughts." "Turn this experience into an article." "Analyze my financial situation."

That single shift — from AI-as-therapist to AI-as-editor — turned wasted hours into a rebuilt career.

What I'm Building Now

I'm working toward consulting and coaching at the intersection of three things I know deeply:

AI as a real productivity tool — not the hype version, but the version that comes from 1,500 hours of daily use.

Career disruption and recovery — what happens when health, circumstance, or crisis forces you out of your career, and how to rebuild from a position of constraint.

People and organizations — a decade of HR experience in operations, BPO, health management, and system design.

I still can't sit at a desk for long. I'm still recovering. But I stopped waiting to recover before I started building.

Why "Gorone Survival"?

"Gorone" (ごろ寝) is Japanese for lying around. "Gorone Survival" means surviving while lying down. It's not a metaphor. It's literally how I work.

At a Glance

AI	1,500+ hours across ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude (2025–2026)
Built with AI	Full WordPress site, 15+ articles (goal: 100+), ongoing technical series
Background	10 years in corporate HR at a Nikkei 225 company
Condition	Lumbar disc herniation, sciatica — ongoing recovery
Location	Rural Kyushu, Japan
Languages	Japanese (native), English
Tools	Claude Cowork, Chrome extension, voice input

Site: gorone-survival.com