Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited the White House on Wednesday for a summit meeting with President Joe Biden.
While China’s growing security threat to Pacific nations was a hot topic, the two leaders also discussed a range of economic and technological issues, including artificial intelligence (AI), a rapidly growing and worrying field. .
Associated Press (AP) arched I got it. Mr Kishida and Mr Biden are said to be in relatively dire political straits, both suffering from low approval ratings, corruption scandals and serious economic problems. As such, both men were keen to promote the close ties between Japan and the United States in order to generate positive headlines.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden arrive at a press conference during a state visit in the White House Rose Garden on April 10, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Mr. Kishida said, “I hope that 2024 will be the year in which the Japanese economy breaks away from the deflationary sentiment, cost cutting, and downsizing mentality that weighs heavily on our country.” Said during a visit to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce before heading to the White House on Tuesday.
To that end, Mr. Kishida met and Microsoft President Brad Smith celebrates Microsoft’s $3 billion investment in two data centers and a new AI lab in Japan. The institute plans to train 3 million AI workers by 2027. Among their duties is to help improve the Japanese government’s cybersecurity defenses.
“These investments will combat deflation by expanding the infrastructure, skilled talent, and security needed to accelerate Japan’s digital transformation and AI adoption,” Microsoft said in a statement about the meeting between Kishida and Smith. The aim is to support Japan’s key pillar of stimulating the economy.”
“This significant increase in digital capabilities will enable Microsoft to offer more advanced computing resources in Japan, including the latest graphics processing units (GPUs), which are critical to accelerating AI workloads.” the company added.
Microsoft said the Japanese investment is part of its efforts to “strengthen hyperscale cloud computing and AI infrastructure.”
As the name suggests, Hyperscale cloud system Huge Online data storage and processing resources. It incorporates many widely distributed data centers to create what customers perceive as her one large, nebulous, easy-to-use cloud of services.
True hyperscale cloud computing is still in its infancy, and it is difficult to build and maintain networks of such enormous scale. Currently, the big three providers (Microsoft, Amazon, and Google) control about 65% of the cloud market, with the rest divided among smaller regional providers.
Regarding Japan’s new AI Lab, Microsoft said it will focus on “areas such as embodied AI and robotics, social AI and welfare, and scientific discoveries that align with Japan’s socio-economic priorities.”
This appears to be a roundabout reference to Japan. 2019 Social Principles of Human-Centered AI, a document that stated that artificial intelligence should be designed in a way that actively promotes “human dignity, diversity, and sustainability.” In practice, this boils down to a strong emphasis on transparency about how AI systems manipulate the data that human users view using search algorithms, and a strong emphasis on transparency about how AI systems manipulate data that human users view using search algorithms, and This would highlight the high level of legal liability for AI providers that cause
In addition to building an AI research lab and training facility, Microsoft announced it will donate $10 million in grants over the next five years to the Artificial Intelligence Research Partnership, a joint project between the University of Tokyo, Keio University and Carnegie Mellon University. .
After meeting with Kishida, Microsoft President Miki Tsusaka said, “We are honored to contribute to Japan and its future with our largest investment, technology and knowledge to date.” “Microsoft Japan is committed to working with our partners to help people and organizations in Japan solve social problems and achieve more.”
white house officials Said On Wednesday, Amazon and electronics giant Nvidia announced they would contribute to a $50 million joint AI research program between the University of Washington in Seattle and the University of Tsukuba in Tokyo, in addition to a joint project between Carnegie Mellon University and Keio University. .
Part of the enthusiasm for these projects appears to stem from the Biden administration’s desire to develop a new set of AI regulations before the end of its term. The White House recently set a year-end deadline for federal agencies to develop strategies to monitor the impact of AI technology.
nikkei asia report Japan’s Minister of Humanities, Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Masa Moriyama announced on Tuesday that he will visit the United States “soon” to meet with Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk, during which time he will sign the first bilateral agreement between Japan and the United States on artificial intelligence technology. did.The two of us are just meeting Tuesday in Washington to discuss fusion energy research.
Both Moriyama and Turk’s institutions have ongoing projects investigating how generative AI can be used to enhance scientific research. At the very least, AI systems have the potential to handle mundane paperwork and allow researchers to collaborate more efficiently, while advanced AI can help plan experiments by digesting vast amounts of experimental data. There is also hope that we may be able to formulate a hypothesis.
The bilateral agreement signed by Moriyama and Turk includes the sharing of research data, the exchange of students and scientists between the two countries, and even the creation of two named supercomputers: Japan’s Fugaku and the US’ Aurora. It also includes cooperation between
of aurora supercomputerSponsored by the Department of Energy and built by Intel and Cray Corporation, the lab is located at Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Illinois.Currently rated Aurora is the world’s second-fastest supercomputer, behind the Frontier system developed by Cray at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, but it probably has some upgrades to help it take the number one spot. It is being done. Fugaku is currently considered the fourth fastest supercomputer in the world.
Close cooperation with the US on AI and supercomputers could be part of Japan’s strategy Bid to participate AUKUS Defense Alliance formed by the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia in 2021.
AUKUS issued a joint statement on Monday praising the efforts of “like-minded partners” in developing quantum computer technology for cybersecurity and electronic warfare. Of these partners, only Japan was mentioned by name in the statement.
“Recognizing Japan’s strengths and close bilateral defense partnership with all three countries, we are considering collaborating with Japan on the AUKUS Pillar 2 Advanced Capabilities Project,” the statement said. The second pillar is AUKUS’s commitment to developing advanced computing capabilities, and the first pillar is ensuring freedom of navigation in the Asia-Pacific region in the face of China’s territorial ambitions.
