Companies in Japan lag behind those in the United States and Europe in the use of generative artificial intelligence, a government white paper showed Friday.
The white paper said that 46.8% of companies in Japan use generative AI in their operations, compared with 84.7% in the U.S. and 72.7% in Germany.
Japanese companies' use of generative AI has been limited to taking meeting minutes and creating emails and documents. In contrast, firms in the U.S. and Europe use the technology in a wider range of operations, including for customer services, the white paper said.
Including companies that use generative AI on a trial basis, the proportion of those using the technology stands at about 70% in Japan, lower than over 90% in both the U.S. and Germany.
In Japan, some 70% of firms pin hopes on the positive impact of generative AI, such as making operations efficient, while companies are equally concerned about risks, including copyright infringement and data breaches, the white paper said.
The proportion of individuals using generative AI is 9.1% in Japan, lower than 46.3% in the U.S. and 34.6% in Germany.
Still, the white paper pointed to potential demand for generative AI in Japan, saying about 70% of people are keen on using the technology in the future to look up things online or to seek health advice.
The white paper called for addressing fake online advertisements spreading inaccurate information or posing as celebrities. One in every four people who saw social media posts featuring unconfirmed information on the Jan. 1 Noto Peninsula earthquake in central Japan had then spread such posts, it said.
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