Japan eyes government AI adoption as OpenAI CEO mulls opening office

Japan’s Chief of Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File photo

TOKYO – Japan will consider government adoption of artificial intelligence technology such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot if privacy and cybersecurity concerns are resolved, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Monday.

The remarks from Matsuno, the top government spokesperson, came shortly before Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, met Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a visit to Japan, where Altman said his company is “looking at opening an office”.

Asked about Italy’s temporary ban on ChatGPT – developed by Microsoft Corp backed OpenAI – Matsuno told a news conference that Japan is aware of other countries’ actions.

Japan will continue evaluating possibilities of introducing AI to reduce government workers’ workload after assessing how to respond to concerns such as data breaches, Matsuno said.