The government council is considering regulating AI technology

The central government’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy Council met on May 22 to discuss establishing laws and regulations to ensure the security of artificial intelligence.

During the meeting, chaired by Yutaka Matsuo, a professor at the University of Tokyo, members discussed the possible dangers of AI technology.

These include the development of AI weapons, violations of privacy and other human rights, and criminal applications.

The Council noted that “it is necessary to consider how legal regulations should be applied to high-risk artificial intelligence.”

The laws and regulations will target companies developing high-risk artificial intelligence with significant impact on society, such as Open AI, the US company that developed ChatGPT.

The council also suggested that the government must consider effective responses to companies violating the regulations and consider penalties.

However, the Council stated that the laws and regulations would not take into account minor details. The goal is to leave as much responsibility as possible to the voluntary efforts of private companies and industry associations, he said.

Many countries around the world have started enacting laws and regulations regarding artificial intelligence, and Japan is starting to follow suit.

In April, the government published a set of non-legally binding AI guidelines for businesses.

So far, the government has focused on promoting the development of artificial intelligence, leaving its functioning to the voluntary efforts of companies developing it.

However, some have noted that the government has not adequately addressed the threats posed by generative AI.

The government therefore started a discussion on the possibility of introducing legal regulations.

On May 21, the European Union adopted the world’s first law on artificial intelligence.

In the United States, President Joe Biden issued an executive order in October 2023 requiring AI developers to disclose information.

Discussions on legal regulations regarding this technology are also ongoing in other large countries.

The Council will carefully examine the content of legislation passed in Europe and the United States and discuss what types of laws and regulations would be appropriate for Japan.

The Council intends to submit the bill to the Sejm session next year.

(This article was written by Takeshi Narabe and Kenro Kuroda.)