Japan has offered support for OpenAI and its main product, ChatGPT. This comes after several bans faced by the artificial intelligence (AI) company. On Monday, April 10, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno announced that Japan is considering AI technologies. The Secretary mentioned OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot and its potential for government systems. However, she also mentioned privacy and cybersecurity concerns regarding such implementation.
For your information, Italy is one of the several countries that banned ChatGPT. This ban was forced on March 31, following an alleged data breach some weeks ago. Italian data protection authorities directed OpenAI to immediately restrict data processing for Italian users. Immediately after the incident, investigations began and are continuing to this day.
The CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, received remarks from Japan’s Matsuno during his visit to Japan. Afterward, Altman met with Fumio Kishida, the Japanese Prime Minister. Matsuno stated that the Japanese government is open to AI technology. Moreover, he believes that they would consider adopting OpenAI’s technology if they offer solutions to privacy and cybersecurity issues.
After Altman’s meeting with Kishida, he announced that OpenAI might establish an office in Japan. Additionally, the CEO of the company stated that they are considering options to expand to Japanese language services.
“We hope to spend much more time and engage with the wonderful talent and build something great for the Japanese people,”
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI
Sam Altman’s Press Conference In Japan
After Altman met with important individuals from the Japanese government, he attended a press conference there as well. During the press conference in Toky, Altman was asked what his vision is regarding Japan. In his answer, Altman expressed enthusiasm for collaborating with Japan’s youth. He believes that the exceptional Japanese talent pool can be leveraged to develop groundbreaking solutions for the country. Moreover, Altman expressed how amazed he was by the level of AI adoption in Japan.
Moving on, Altman gave some details on what he and the Prime Minister discussed. According to Altman, they discussed solutions on how to eliminate negative aspects of AI and utilize the technology at a maximum. Additionally, they emphasized the importance of the safety of the people, highlighting that they must be vigilant about the risks of artificial intelligence. Other than that, Altman confirmed again that his company will introduce the Japanese language and cultural nuances to ChatGPT.
Canada Investigating OpenAI For Illegally Collecting Data
Canada is another country that is going against OpenAI and its technology. Canada’s privacy commissioner is investigating the company for collecting and using data. The personal information of users was allegedly collected and used without the user’s consent. On April 4, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada announced the probe. This probe came following complaints from an individual who claims to have fallen victim to the situation.
The head privacy commissioner of Canada, Philippe Dufresne, stated that he and his department is monitoring AI technology. He emphasized that these actions are being done to protect Canadians’ privacy rights.
