Officials in Japan are beginning to tighten their stance towards artificial intelligence (AI) after the country’s local privacy watchdog warned the ChatGPT parent company about its data collection methods. 

On June 2, Japan’s Personal Information Protection Commission issued a statement, asking OpenAI to minimize the amount of sensitive data it collects for machine learning purposes. Additionally, it stressed not to do so without people’s permission. 

The commission also highlighted the need to balance its privacy concerns with allowing room to foster the potential benefits of AI, such as pushing forward innovation. 

However it did warn that it is prepared to take further action if there are additional concerns on the matter.

These statements come shortly after the Japanese government submitted a draft of its AI strategy council on May 26, which raised concerns over the lack of regulations for AI and the risks it poses to society.

During this time, Japanese lawmaker Takashi Kii said he also will begin pushing for regulations that protect copyright holders from AI algorithm infringement. 

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Back in March, ChatGPT was banned from Italy after scrutiny of its security protocols from Italian regulators. This sparked waves of uncertainty from regulators around the world, who also began probes into the technology.

At that time, however, Japanese regulators showed support for OpenAI. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno even said that Japan would consider incorporating AI technology into government systems.

Though Matsuno added AI integration would only be possible if privacy and security issues were properly addressed.

A poll from April 30 revealed that 69.4% of surveyed Japanese would like stricter regulations in place for AI development. Recent data from Simliarweb revealed Japan to be in third place for traffic to OpenAI’s site.

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