In the face of Japan’s rapidly decreasing population, Yokosuka City has turned to innovative artificial intelligence (AI) technology in order to maintain a successful working infrastructure. Yokosuka, located in the central Kanagawa prefecture, announced that they would be utilizing the AI chatbot ChatGPT to help with administrative tasks. According to the municipal government’s official website, all employees will have the opportunity to use the chatbot to “summarize sentences, check spelling errors, and create ideas.” A spokesperson for the municipal government also explained that the population crisis in the nation had encouraged the implementation of ChatGPT’s technology.
Japan as a whole has witnessed a rapid decrease in population for years. The central leader of Japan even went as far as to say that the country is running out of time to have children and is nearing a crisis point that could have detrimental effects on the nation’s social functions. Yokosuka is currently experiencing the same individual population crisis and in turn has tapped ChatGPT to take over tedious, mundane tasks, in order to give government employees the freedom to focus on opportunities that only humans can provide. This could lead to an increase in productivity, allowing for better city services to citizens and creating a happier overall atmosphere.
ChatGPT, created by Open AI, has already been used to generate student essays, help compose wedding vows, and to assist with sermons in churches and synagogues. Although the chatbot has provided some benefits, it has not been welcomed with open arms everywhere. Multiple data privacy concerns have been made, especially when AI produces racist and sexist content, prompting the Italian government to issue a temporary ban on the AI chatbot in April. Other companies such as JPMorgan Chase have put restrictions on employee’s use of ChatGPT due to compliance concerns connected to third-party software.
These criticisms and problems have not halted Yokosuka from utilizing ChatGPT’s services. They have the highest expectation for the chatbot’s roll-out, hoping it will lead to an improved workflow from the municipal government. As stated on their website, the chatbot was even used to draft and proofread the release of the news about ChatGPT’s usage in Yokosuka City.
The Open AI company, the parent company of ChatGPT, is a San Francisco based company that is leading the research in Artificial Intelligence technologies. Founded in 2015 by two of the most prominent figures in the tech world, Elon Musk and Sam Altman, Open AI was created to spread the use of AI to many different industries. Open AI hopes to be able to set the standard for the ethical usage of AI across all industries, while researching different methods of developing the innovative technology.
