Report from the Riken Center for Advanced Intelligence Project (AIP) - Part 1

 ■Report from the Riken Center for Advanced Intelligence Project (AIP) - Part 1

AIP, which is Riken’s AI research center, held a symposium. I serve as the coordinator of this center and provided a greeting.

I used to be a government official. When I was starting my career in the mid ’80s, I took charge of a project to develop an automatic translation phone using the shares from the privatization of the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation. As a result, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International was established in the Kansai region. I then went to MIT and developed a project with Marvin Minsky and others. Being the coordinator at AIP is my third involvement with AI.

AI is becoming the hottest issue in the world. Not a day goes by without AI being mentioned in the news. Seeing an elderly lady praise AI while trying a massage chair while I was at a household electronics store the other day, I felt that it was amazing that we have reached the point where people refer to AI instead of artificial intelligence from the development to implementation stages.

The term Industry 4.0 was coined in Germany to point to AI, IoT, and the data-driven society that serves as the foundation. It is positioned as the fourth industry, following light industry, heavy industry, and the information industry. In contrast, the Japanese government proposed Society 5.0. This is the 5th society or rather 5th civilization following hunting, agriculture, industry, and information. Which term do all of you prefer?

I believe that the event of AI, which is a creation of humankind, surpassing the abilities of humankind and creations of humankind communicating with each other will be so significant as to divide the history of humankind before and after it and is not part of the Industrial Revolution, which took place for only 2-3 centuries after it began in the 18th century. At the very least, I believe it should be portrayed in the context of the theory of civilization, as the Japanese term suggests.

Every country is certainly aware of this. For this reason, the United States, China, and the EU repeatedly lock swords over data. Although GAFA has obtained power than surpasses an ordinary nation, its CEOs are being criticized for their outflow of personal information.

The EU implemented GDPR, while France and the United Kingdom have introduced digital taxes. The United States and China are sharply at odds over companies that handle 5G equipment. These are all examples of the struggle for hegemony in a data-driven society.

Land is the resource for an agricultural society. Oil is the resource for an industrial society. Information is the resource for an information society. Data is the resource for an AI/IoT society. Nations have repeatedly fought wars over land and oil. There have also been struggles between nations over hegemony in the field of information media. The battle over data is becoming serious.

The Japanese government has set up the “Council to Evaluate Principles of Human-Centric AI Society” in the Cabinet Office and prepares to lead international discussions among the G7 and OECD. The Intellectual Property Strategy Headquarters, which I serve as the chairperson of, has also advocated for intellectual property strategies involving AI ahead of the rest of the world. However, the development and introduction of AI, which is the core, is more important than discussions. There is a need to funnel efforts toward this. I understand that Riken plays an important role in this aspect.

This situation in which the United States, China, and the EU fight each other presents an opportunity. Even putting AI and data to the side, no end is in sight for the trade war between the United States and China. In the EU, domestic politics are turbulent in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Italy. Japan is in a position to find harmony regarding AI, which is the next common theme for humankind.

Japan is a troubled advanced nation due to aging society and natural disasters. How can AI be used to face these issues head-on? How can AI contribute to the SDGs? Is this not an opportunity for Japan to present its solutions to the world?