Japan meets OpenAI CEO, Prime Minister Kishida

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Japan meets OpenAI CEO, Prime Minister Kishida

Sam Altman, the head of OpenAI, speaks with reporters in Tokyo on April 10 after his meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Koichi Ueda, the head of a U.S. artificial intelligence technology startup, had an unusual meeting in early April between Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and the CEO of a U.S. artificial intelligence technology startup, in part because of concerns that the Group of Seven summit Japan will host in May might place restraints on such technology, said Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The demand for lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to jump-start the nation s AI development was another key hurdle, as they view the technology as an opportunity for significant economic gains in the future.

The meeting between Kishida and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, was held on April 10 in Tokyo. ChatGPT is a generative AI service that provides answers to any question that the user submits.

Altman began offering the ChatGPT service to Japan as the first overseas destination for his company.

LDP lawmakers not only approached OpenAI about Altman's visit to Japan but also set up the meeting with Kishida, the sources said.

The initial mood among those closest to Kishida was, Is it all right to have the prime minister meet someone we know so little about? The LDP AI project team submitted a set of proposals to the government on 30 March, calling for the creation of an environment for research and development into advanced AI, including ChatGPT, as well as aggressive use of such technology by government offices at all levels.

The proposal also aimed at the creation of startups and the use of AI technology to write the first drafts of responses by ministers to opposition questioning in the Diet.

Japan's excitement is in contrast to European and the United States' moves to limit the use of ChatGPT and similar technology due to privacy concerns.

However, Takuya Hirai, who chairs the LDP's headquarters for the Promotion of a Digital Society, which encompasses the AI project team, said nothing will be resolved only through regulations. We must always have a positive mindset. Several Cabinet ministers on record are steadfast in favor of using the technology in order to enhance work efficiency.

The focus on promoting technology reflects the fact that Japan is a leader in AI research and development and is applying it to industry.

If other nations where AI research is more advanced are hares, then Japan is the tortoise, a government source told the Associated Press. This story is about the tortoise overtaking the hares while it's resting due to regulations. The LDP lawmakers had decided to invite Altman to Japan prior to the G-7 summit to head off any possible move to include regulations on AI technology in any joint statement coming out of the meeting.

We had a great meeting,' said Altman, who also spoke with Kishida. He was a very thoughtful person. Altman said his company is thinking of setting up a base in Japan. He added that he wanted to incorporate the Japanese language and culture into ChatGPT to enhance the model for easier use by Japanese.

OpenAI officials were likely briefed on the fast-paced pace at which Japanese are beginning to use ChatGPT despite its lagging position in AI technology. In addition, there is huge interest in Japan in testing the prototype Bing search engine service, which was developed by Microsoft Corp. in February that incorporated ChatGPT technology.