A leader in robotics, Japan has now set its sights on the area where it has fallen behind China and the US
Hisashi Matsumoto, Japan's minister for digital transformation, said the island nation will become the easiest place in the world to develop artificial intelligence (AI) applications, thanks to legislative changes that mean organizations will no longer need to get users' consent to use certain personal information, The Register reports.
To make this possible, Japan's government this week approved amendments to the Personal Information Protection Act, which remove the requirement for explicit consent (opt-in) before personal data is used.
The changes only apply to data that presents a low risk of violating the rights of individuals and when developers use it to compile statistics for research purposes. Even health-related data falls under these amendments if it can contribute to improving public health.
Facial scans are also allowed. The amendments require those who collect facial images to explain how they manage the data, but offering the possibility to withdraw (“opt-out”) will not be mandatory.
Collecting images of children under the age of 16 will require parental consent and a “best interests” test will be applied when considering the use of data depicting minors.
What else does Japanese law provide to facilitate the development of AI tools?
Organizations that collect data erroneously or use it maliciously to harm citizens will be fined equivalent to the profit made from the misuse of the data. The Japanese government will also introduce fines for obtaining data through fraudulent means.
Conversely, in the event of a data breach, organizations will not be required to inform affected citizens if there is a low risk of harm to individuals.
Minister Matsumoto said the country needs this legislative change because the current laws are “a very big obstacle to the development and use of artificial intelligence in Japan.”
He said this must be prevented because without access to data, Japan will have difficulty developing and implementing useful AI applications.
Despite its reputation as a major center of robotics and technology, Japan has been noticeably slow to develop AI models, lagging far behind the US and regional rival China.
