The use of the AI model ChatGPT is prompting a wave of discussion concerning its usage and potential risks. With this technology, users can quickly generate content such as phrases and answers to questions from different sources. From April 20th, the Yokosuka City Hall in Kanagawa prefecture has been running a trial of the AI system to help with PR, responding quickly with prepared material for their city bulletin. The 30 second responses included phrases such as “interacting, smiling and supporting: a close look at the city’s welfare work” or “hoping to enrich everyone’s life, let us show you the city’s welfare efforts”.
The Fujioka municipal government in Gunma prefecture are following suit, planning to introduce ChatGPT on a trial basis in early May. The municipality wants to explore the possibility of using the system to formulate policies and to prepare answers to council members’ questions. Furthermore, government entities are also planning to employ ChatGPT; the Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Ministry is considering using it to revise the manual for online services.
Not everyone, however, sees AI as the way forward. Tottori prefectural government has banned its employees from using the system. Tottori Governor Shinji Hirai emphasized the need for staff to gather their own information, making sure their responses were not solely generated through chatbot AI. The use of AI in the Diet is still a hotly debated issue, with Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura voicing concern that appropriate answers must come from humans and not from electronically generated words.
Students have become prone to using AI for job applications, with a male Keio University student submitting documents written through ChatGPT to various companies and all of them having accepted them. Moreover, there are “How to” guides online on using AI to create teacher comments for student’s report cards, prompting schools to take action. To help prevent this, Sophia University has banned the use of AI without faculty permissions, while Tohoku University is considering revising their evaluation methods. The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry has already begun formulating guidelines to help manage the potential threat of AI taking over manual tasks.
The Yokosuka City Hall and Fujioka municipal government demonstrate how AI technology can be used effectively and responsibly to improve operational efficiency while protecting confidential information. However, it is important to consider how far we should trust AI in our lives and how it could potentially affect our lifestyle. Ultimately, we must be conscious of what is appropriately delegated to AI, the extent to which it can be trusted and the value it provides.
