Japan Press Weekly

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2023 April 12 - 18 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Calls are growing in Japan for rulemaking on use of ChatGPT

Akahata editorial (excerpts)

U.S. AI research and deployment company OpenAI released a chat generative pre-trained transformer called "ChatGPT" to the public in December last year. Calls are growing in Japan for the need to set regulations on the use of ChatGPT. Cutting-edge technologies open new possibilities for people's lives, but at the same time, they may have a negative impact on society, depending on how they are used.

In Italy, the information protection authorities suspended the delivery of ChatGPT services to protect personal data. In Japan, the creation of rules relating to the use of ChatGPT is necessary. It is a political responsibility. The government should not leave the matter up to ChatGPT developer OpenAI.

ChatGPT is a type of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) which can create a wide variety of data, such as images, videos, audio, text, and 3D models. GenAI analyzes massive amounts of accumulated information "Big Data" and produces answers that would match the situation.

Big Data contains a sizable amount of personal information, including that entered by private individuals when they search online. They are not informed how their information are being or will be used. This will run counter to the need for privacy protection.

The Italian government considers it problematic that ChatGPT does not explain to its users about the collection and use of personal data. The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) guarantees the right to refuse or agree to the collection and use of the identifiable person's information. The Italian authorities said it will lift the suspension if ChatGPT abides by the GDPR.

In the United States, lawsuits seeking the suspension of ChatGPT services have been filed with the relevant government organizations, claiming that ChatGPT's data-gathering methods are unclear.

In contrast, the Japanese government is unwilling to place strict restrictions on the use of personal data. The existing privacy law is designed mainly to utilize personal data.

The government at a Cabinet meeting in June last year endorsed the "integrated innovation strategy" which will facilitate the utilization of AI. The government should enact legislation and impose strict restrictions on the use of ChatGPT.