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▼ Japan To Promote Domestic AI Development For National Security
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The Japanese government will specify the need to promote domestic development of artificial intelligence in an upcoming strategy, official sources said Sunday, as it seeks to avoid overdependence on foreign AI for national security.
An overview of the country's basic AI plan being compiled is expected to call for better treatment to attract AI professionals, along with the development of cutting-edge chips and a next-generation supercomputer, according to the sources.
At a time when the United States and China are competing for high-tech supremacy and competition is fierce in the private sector to develop new AI models, Japan lags behind the major powers in both AI development and use, surveys show.
As the advancement of AI technology can directly impact national security, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said Japan should catch up and "reverse" the tide.
The government held its first meeting of its AI strategy task force in September with an eye toward compiling a basic plan by the year's end.
The outline of that plan will be presented possibly later this month when the government holds another meeting, stating that Japan should "not rely excessively on foreign players for AI that would determine our national power," according to the sources.
To push for home-grown AI, the government sees it necessary to improve living conditions, including via better pay, for researchers and engineers from both at home and overseas.
It also aims to foster closer coordination among universities, research institutes and businesses in and outside the country to take in advanced expertise, the sources said.
Japan will also accelerate the development its new flagship supercomputer to succeed the existing Fugaku by the state-backed Riken research institute, for use in AI development that requires massive volumes of high-speed calculations.
The overview of the plan is expected to point out national security risks posed by the advancement of AI, such as the spread of disinformation and misinformation as well as cyberattacks.
The government is expected to say that it will address those risks while facilitating innovation to make Japan "the world's most friendly nation to AI development and use," according to the sources.
While Japanese companies are developing AI, Japan remains a laggard in the field dominated by the likes of U.S. OpenAI, the operator of the ChatGPT chatbot, and Chinese startup DeepSeek, which unveiled a generative AI chatbot at a fraction of competitors' cost.
About 27 percent of Japanese people said they had used generative AI in fiscal 2024, compared with nearly 69 percent in the United States and about 81 percent in China, according to data cited by the Japanese government.
An overview of the country's basic AI plan being compiled is expected to call for better treatment to attract AI professionals, along with the development of cutting-edge chips and a next-generation supercomputer, according to the sources.
At a time when the United States and China are competing for high-tech supremacy and competition is fierce in the private sector to develop new AI models, Japan lags behind the major powers in both AI development and use, surveys show.
As the advancement of AI technology can directly impact national security, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said Japan should catch up and "reverse" the tide.
The government held its first meeting of its AI strategy task force in September with an eye toward compiling a basic plan by the year's end.
The outline of that plan will be presented possibly later this month when the government holds another meeting, stating that Japan should "not rely excessively on foreign players for AI that would determine our national power," according to the sources.
To push for home-grown AI, the government sees it necessary to improve living conditions, including via better pay, for researchers and engineers from both at home and overseas.
It also aims to foster closer coordination among universities, research institutes and businesses in and outside the country to take in advanced expertise, the sources said.
Japan will also accelerate the development its new flagship supercomputer to succeed the existing Fugaku by the state-backed Riken research institute, for use in AI development that requires massive volumes of high-speed calculations.
The overview of the plan is expected to point out national security risks posed by the advancement of AI, such as the spread of disinformation and misinformation as well as cyberattacks.
The government is expected to say that it will address those risks while facilitating innovation to make Japan "the world's most friendly nation to AI development and use," according to the sources.
While Japanese companies are developing AI, Japan remains a laggard in the field dominated by the likes of U.S. OpenAI, the operator of the ChatGPT chatbot, and Chinese startup DeepSeek, which unveiled a generative AI chatbot at a fraction of competitors' cost.
About 27 percent of Japanese people said they had used generative AI in fiscal 2024, compared with nearly 69 percent in the United States and about 81 percent in China, according to data cited by the Japanese government.
- 13/10 18:02
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