Kishida Addresses New Expert Panel on AI Regulation; PM Calls for Emphasizing Safety and Competitiveness

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:30 JST, August 2, 2024

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida urged a government expert panel to consider legal restrictions on generative artificial intelligence at the panel’s inaugural meeting on Friday.

The first meeting of the AI systems study group, a panel of experts to study legal restrictions on generative AI, was held at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo.

Amid a growing trend toward international regulation of AI, Kishida called at the meeting for the study of legal restrictions based on four basic principles: ensuring both the security and competitiveness of AI; creating a system flexible enough to respond to technological changes; complying with international guidelines; and proper procurement and use of AI by the government.

“It is essential to ensure the safety of AI to promote the utilization of AI and strengthening its development,” Kishida said at the meeting.

The European Union’s adoption in May of the Artificial Intelligence Act, which classifies risks and regulates the development and operation of AI, is an example of a growing trend toward international regulation of AI.

The government is also increasingly concerned about AI being used in cyberattacks, physical weapons and the generation and spread of false information, among other things.

It aims to submit a related bill as early as next year’s ordinary Diet session.