A Japanese government council has decided to discuss regulations aimed primarily at developers of generative artificial intelligence as early as this summer.
As AI-related regulations take shape in Europe and the United States, Japan will discuss the introduction of legislation that will work alongside guidelines set out in April for business operators, the council said on Wednesday.
The meeting of the government’s AI Strategy Council on Wednesday was attended by experts and ministers, including Science and Technology Policy Minister Sanae Takaichi.
The envisaged regulations, which will mainly concern developers of generative AI, will be considered in the hope of preventing the development of AI technologies that could lead to human rights violations, weapons production, crimes and terrorism.
The council will also discuss whether sector-specific regulations can be applied to AI service providers and users, given the need to mitigate the risks of applying generative AI technologies in medical devices and self-driving vehicles.
AI developers, service providers and users deemed to be at lower risk of negative impact will be subject to the guidelines, as opposed to legislation.
The European Union passed its AI law on Tuesday to regulate the development and use of AI. In October last year, US President Joe Biden issued an executive order requiring AI developers to report the results of their security checks.
In April, Japan released guidelines for AI business operators, leaving it up to them to take the necessary measures on their own. However, some people have called for formal regulations.
