CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman and the maker of ChatGPT, the buzzy AI chatbot which is currently the rave of the moment, has revealed plans of starting operations in Japan.
The serial entrepreneur met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida last week, during a visit to Japan where he disclosed that his company is looking at setting up an office in the country as OpenAI seeks to build something great for the Japanese people. He also disclosed the upsides of the technology and how to mitigate the downsides.
He said, “We hope to build something great for Japanese people, make the models better for the Japanese language and Japanese culture. We believe that the development of AI will be one of the most important technological revolutions ever, and the role that Japan can play is both as a significant adapter and user and creator of technology.” He added that the country can help set the global agenda for regulations.
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Following his meeting with the Japanese prime minister, Chief cabinet secretary of Japan Hirokazu Matsuno disclosed that the Japanese government will consider the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot if privacy and cybersecurity concerns are resolved. He stated that Japan will continue to evaluate possibilities of introducing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to reduce government workers’ workload after assessing how to respond to concerns such as data breaches.
Also, a member of the Japanese House of Representatives Takuya Hirari disclosed that some kind of regulation whether through legislation or guidelines, is necessary, given the risks to both human rights and privacy if AI is used unchecked. He further emphasized the need for the Japanese government to create a zone where people can feel safe as soon as possible.
Japan’s plan to introduce OpenAI Artificial Intelligence technology into the country is coming after Italy blocked it from adoption in the country. The Italian national privacy regulator last month ordered an effective ban on AI chatbot ChatGPT, accusing the creator of the technology OpenAI, of unlawful collection of personal data. It ordered the company to stop collecting Italian users’ data immediately until it amends its data collection practices.
Italy’s data protection authority, the GPDP further argued that OpenAI has no mechanism in place to stop underage from accessing the service, which exposes minors to absolutely unsuitable answers compared to their degree of development and self-awareness.
It is however interesting to note that it isn’t the first time that Italy’s data watchdog has taken such drastic action against an AI chatbot. The country in February this year banned U.S-based AI chatbot Replika from using personal data after citing risks to minors and emotionally fragile people.
Meanwhile, Italy isn’t the only country reckoning with the rapid pace of AI progression and the problems it may pose to society. Other governments are coming up with their own rules for AI. Analysts and experts have raised concerns over the potential misuse of AI. IT leaders are worried it will soon be used in major cyberattacks, with the potential to cause devastation in the future.
Also, there have been long calls for AI to face regulation looking at how rapidly the technology is evolving. Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak as well as hundreds of well-known technologists, businessmen, and researchers have urged AI labs to halt work on active AI systems immediately. They urged programmers to take a break from the “out-of-control race” to release ever-more advanced products while we better understand advanced artificial intelligence’s dangers to humanity.
In a survey of 1,500 IT and cybersecurity professionals conducted by BlackBerry, 51% of respondents believed that ChatGPT will be responsible for a successful cyberattack in the next 12 months. As much as 78% feel that the attack will happen within two years, while a handful thinks it could happen within the next few months.