At a meeting of Group of Seven ministers in charge of digital and technology policies in Gunma Prefecture this weekend, Japan will strive to bring its fellow members on board with efforts to promote free cross-border flows of data. The meeting is also expected to discuss the use of generative artificial intelligence applications, such as ChatGPT, and how they should be governed. Due to rapid digitalization around the world, the amount of data generated and its value are only increasing, with many calling data the "new oil" of the 21st century. This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software. Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.

Speaking after the first day of the ICT meeting, Takaichi said she introduced eight basic principles Tokyo believes important when developing computer science that gives machines human-like intelligence, and that she was generally supported in calling for further discussion. The eight principles include making AI networks controllable by human beings and respect for human dignity and privacy. "The development of AI is expected to progress at a tremendous pace of speed, and it should be amazing technology that does not give anxiety to people," the minister of internal affairs and communications told reporters, noting the need to deepen international discussion about establishing a basic set of rules. The first G-7 ICT ministerial meeting in nearly two decades comes at a time when cyberattacks have become a global reality and the development of such potentially revolutionary technologies as artificial intelligence and the "Internet of Things" (IoT) -- the concept of connecting various products to the Internet -- continues apace. With cyberattacks having become a global reality, participants from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States discussed at the G-7 meeting ways to utilize advances in the field to drive economic growth while ensuring data security.