OpenAI Plans Japan Expansion as CEO meets PM Kishida

Apr 10, 2023 thejournalbiz

Altman visits with Kishida and local politicians to talk AI

OpenAI aims to create services that will work well in Japanese

Sam Altman, co-founder and chief executive officer of OpenAI, said the organization is looking at opening a Japan office and expanding Japanese language services after meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

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OpenAI aims to create services that will work well in Japanese
Sam Altman, co-founder of OpenAI, said the organization is looking at opening a Japan office and expanding Japanese language services after meeting with PM Fumio Kishida via Bloomberg#ChatGPT https://t.co/ScKDstgKG1

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“We hope to spend much more time and engage with the wonderful talent and build something great for the Japanese people,” Altman told reporters in Tokyo Monday. “It really is amazing to see the adoption of this technology in Japan.”

OpenAI has set off a frenzy of interest in artificial intelligence technologies since unveiling its ChatGPT service in November. Microsoft Corp. agreed to pour $10 billion into the company and has integrated the technology into its Bing search engine. Google, the world’s leading search service, has responded with AI integrations of its own.

Altman said that he discussed the technology’s potential with Kishida, and how to mitigate the downsides. They also talked about how to be thoughtful about the risks and how to make AI “as good for people as we can make it.”

Altman said OpenAI would work to make their models compelling in the Japanese language and for the Japanese culture.

“We believe that the development of AI will be one of the most important technological revolutions ever, and the role that Japan can play is both as a significant adopter and user and creator of the technology,” Altman told reporters after meeting with local politicians, adding that the country can “help set the global agenda for regulations.”