TL;DR:
- EU has proposed comprehensive and strict AI rules based on its values and fundamental rights.
- Japan leans toward more lenient rules to boost economic growth and become a leader in advanced chips.
- Critics argue that EU rules are either too restrictive or too vague, while Japan aims for a softer approach.
- Japan’s regulatory reform focuses on facilitating AI implementation and creating a data ecosystem.
- Measures taken by Japan include amendments to data protection laws, encouraging data sharing, and advocating for free data flow.
- Japan recognizes AI as a strategic technology for competitiveness and social welfare and aims to shape global AI norms.
Main AI News:
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to reshape industries and domains, it brings forth immense transformative potential. Nevertheless, it also presents significant challenges and risks, including ethical dilemmas, social impacts, legal uncertainties, and security threats. Consequently, numerous countries and regions are developing frameworks and principles to govern the responsible and trustworthy development and use of AI.
One noteworthy endeavor in this regard is the European Union’s (EU) comprehensive and stringent set of AI rules, which are founded on its values and fundamental rights. The EU’s AI regulation aims to ensure that AI systems remain human-centric, transparent, accountable, safe, and secure. It also emphasizes the importance of respecting privacy, data protection, non-discrimination, and other rights. These rules further encompass prohibitions or restrictions on specific high-risk AI practices, such as mass surveillance, social scoring, or manipulation of human behavior. Additionally, the EU mandates that AI providers and users adhere to various obligations and standards, including conducting risk assessments, implementing quality management systems, ensuring human oversight, providing information and explanations to users and affected individuals, and establishing mechanisms for complaints and redress.
The EU’s approach to AI regulation has garnered widespread acclaim as a global benchmark and a model for other countries to emulate. Nevertheless, not everyone is in agreement with the EU’s vision or the level of ambition it entails. Critics argue that the EU’s rules may be overly restrictive, prescriptive, or burdensome, potentially stifling innovation, competitiveness, and cooperation in the AI domain. Others assert that the rules are too vague, ambiguous, or inconsistent, which could generate legal uncertainty, confusion, or fragmentation within the AI market. Furthermore, some question the feasibility, enforceability, and effectiveness of the EU’s rules in achieving their intended goals.
Diverging from the EU’s perspective on AI regulation is Japan, a country that appears to adopt a distinct approach. According to a Reuters report, Japan leans toward more lenient rules governing AI usage, seeking to leverage the technology for economic growth and to become a leader in advanced chip manufacturing. An official familiar with the deliberations revealed that Japan’s stance on AI is likely to align closer to the attitude embraced by the United States, rather than adopting the stringent regulations championed by the EU. However, the official did not provide further details on the specific areas where Japan’s rules would likely differ from those of the EU.
Nonetheless, some insights into Japan’s AI governance can be gleaned from its existing documents and initiatives. Japan has embraced a risk-based and soft-law approach to AI regulation while actively pursuing legislative reform that promotes AI implementation. Regulation of AI pertains to managing risks associated with AI, while regulation of AI focuses on regulatory reform to facilitate AI adoption.
In terms of regulation for AI, Japan has demonstrated greater proactivity and ambition. The country recognizes AI as a crucial driver of economic growth and societal transformation and has set a goal to become a global leader in AI by 2030. To achieve this objective, Japan has launched several initiatives encompassing AI research and development, education and training, infrastructure and standards, industry collaboration, and international cooperation.
However, Japan faces a significant challenge in realizing its AI vision: a dearth of available and accessible data. Data plays a vital role in the development and improvement of AI systems, but Japan struggles with a data deficit due to factors such as stringent privacy laws, low digitalization rates, and fragmented data silos. Consequently, Japan has been working on establishing a data ecosystem that enables secure and efficient data sharing and utilization among various stakeholders.
To address this challenge, Japan has implemented or plans to implement several measures, including:
- The amended Act on the Protection of Personal Information (2020): This introduces new rules on data anonymization, pseudonymization, consent management, data portability, and other aspects to strike a balance between data protection and utilization.
- The Act on Utilization of Public Sector Information (2020): This mandates the disclosure of public sector information in machine-readable formats and encourages its reuse by private entities.
- The Act on Data Collaboration between Administrative Organs (2020): This enables the sharing of personal data among public authorities for administrative purposes under specific conditions.
- The Act on Creation of Data Distribution Rules (2021): This establishes a framework for creating standardized contracts for data transactions among private entities.
- The Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT) initiative: Proposed by Japan at the G20 summit in 2019, this advocates for the free flow of data across borders based on trust, privacy, and security.
Conclusion:
Japan’s regulatory reform for AI is predicated on the recognition that AI is a strategic technology capable of enhancing the country’s competitiveness and social welfare. Japan acknowledges the need for an enabling environment that supports the development and utilization of AI, including factors such as data availability and accessibility, legal certainty and clarity, infrastructure, and standards. Additionally, Japan’s reform efforts are driven by its aspiration to play a leading role in shaping global rules and norms for AI.
