Microsoft to provide Japan’s government with ChatGPT AI technology

As reported by NikkeiAsia, Microsoft is set to provide Japan’s government with the technology behind its ChatGPT generative AI, aimed at assisting with clerical work and analysis, as reported by Nikkei. This includes the capability to create draft responses to parliamentary queries.

Microsoft has installed high-processing power equipment to handle confidential information at its data centres in Tokyo and Osaka. This marks the first deployment of this technology in Asia.

Representatives from Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party are finalizing the arrangement with Microsoft, which, until now, has only deployed this AI technology in Europe, where it was developed in collaboration with OpenAI.

Under the agreement, Microsoft will supply GPT-4, a large language model supporting ChatGPT’s human-like interaction, and AI technology from Meta, Facebook’s parent company, with which Microsoft has collaborated.

The new Digital Agency of Japan plans to allocate just over $2 million for a one-year trial of the technology. It will be tested for tasks such as preparing minutes, generating draft responses to parliamentary queries, and analyzing government statistics to streamline employee tasks.

Microsoft aims to improve the AI’s accuracy in Japanese, addressing a previous weak point, and will accumulate data to serve Japan’s government, requiring a substantial amount of administrative information. To ensure security, the data centres will be located domestically. This will also benefit Japanese companies, including financial institutions, that handle confidential data, making adopting AI services easier.

The Liberal Democratic Party believes that generative AI can significantly improve the quality and efficiency of administrative services. As a result, various government agencies, such as the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, are considering adopting it.