The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is developing a Generative AI Platform, which will allow government employees to create AI applications to assist with their work. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and municipal governments throughout the Japanese capital are increasingly using generative artificial intelligence in their administrative operations. To support this trend, the metropolitan government is working with GovTech Tokyo, an affiliated organization that promotes digitalization in local governments, to develop a Generative AI Platform. The system will allow government employees to create generative AI applications tailored to their specific duties. By encouraging active use of the platform, Tokyo authorities aim to boost efficiency in public services and address growing concerns over labor shortages. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will begin using the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT for writing texts and carrying out other clerical work in all of its offices from August, Gov. Yuriko Koike said Tuesday. ChatGPT "has the potential to greatly transform the way public administration is conducted," Koike said during a metropolitan assembly session. She added that "better city governance" can be achieved by assessing the positive and negative aspects of the AI service. Koike also said the metropolitan government will use ChatGPT for tasks including preparing documents in question-and-answer format, and seek input from its employees about other practical uses for the generative AI tool. This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software.

COVID-19 accelerated the deployment of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies – reshaping how we work, shop, learn, socialize, even visit the doctor in ways likely to stick around long after the virus is under control. Even when we are able to safely return to "normal" life, continued acceleration of these innovations will be critical to recovery and making progress on our global goals. However, the pandemic also underscored the need for public and private sector governance to address emerging challenges and ensure tech works for everyone. As a recent World Economic Forum report explained, the pandemic "exposed even more clearly the gaps that still exist in digital access." Responsible technology governance is needed to protect against discriminatory algorithms, unethical use of data and job displacement.

Japan will commence random mass PCR testing as early as March as part of efforts to ascertain the extent of the novel coronavirus' spread in city areas, according to government sources. The central government is aiming to conduct up to several thousand polymerase chain reaction tests per day in Tokyo, Osaka and other metropolitan areas seeing a high number of cases, with the goal of using the information to develop effective virus prevention measures, the sources said Monday. In contrast with local government testing that only targets people who show symptoms or have had close contact with infected individuals, random people will be tested to determine how much the virus has spread in a particular city. The costs of the tests, which will be carried out by contracted private companies, will be fully covered by the central government. The tests are expected to be conducted at airports, as well as places where crowds tend to gather such as city centers, companies and universities.

Japan has deployed robots to work in Tokyo subway stations to help tourists in preparation for the 2020 Olympic Games. The six-foot robot named Arisa, created by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, will give subway travellers directions and show them the way to the restrooms. Tokyo is facing an influx of millions of spectators for the forthcoming international event which they will host for the second time in history, after 1964. An ageing population and low birth rate has resulted in a national labour shortage, prompting the need for multilingual Arisa to guide the swarm of foreign tourists. Japan has deployed robots to work in Tokyo subway stations to direct tourists in preparation for the 2020 Olympic Games. Arisa is a project by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.