Yasutoshi Nishimura, Japan’s minister of economy, said in a speech to students at the University of Tokyo on Tuesday that the nation is establishing the foundation for some of the top artificial intelligence companies in the world to call it home.
He stated at a symposium that this includes funding promising startups and large corporations as well as advancing debates on universal basic income. As AI advances, he predicted that people will have more time as robots, drones, self-driving cars, and other devices become more useful.
According to Nishimura, Japan would also need the ability to spearhead the development of AI-training processors. Nvidia Corp., a manufacturer of graphics chips, is the market leader in this area after becoming the most valuable chip firm in the world as a result of its early investment in AI. He wants to build a business in Japan that is better than Nvidia, he stated.
Fumio Kishida, the prime minister, has increased backing for the domestic semiconductor industry in the hopes that shifting geopolitical priorities could enable Japan to reclaim some of its long-lost chip-making primacy. In an effort to increase domestic chip output by 2030, the nation is planning billions of dollars in subsidies. A government-backed fund is also striving to strengthen the nation’s chip materials supply chain.
Longer than other places, the birthplace of Astro Boy has hosted open talks on AI’s effects on society. Furthermore, Kishida asserted that even though Japan is now creating regulations for the use of generative AI this year, those rules do not have to impede AI development. He indicated during the symposium that it wasn’t an all or nothing decision.
Masayoshi Son, the billionaire founder of SoftBank Group Corp., who was present, showed particular enthusiasm. Son claimed last month that the Vision Fund, the biggest digital investment fund in the world, is looking for fresh investments after suffering billions of dollars in losses on its AI bets.
He said that now that humans are no longer the most intelligent living beings on the earth, we need to talk about what it means to be human. Now is the time for Japan to invest fully in AI.
