Yokosuka City in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, has become the first city to introduce the ChatGPT AI chatbot for administrative purposes.
In a month-long trial, about 4,000 city hall employees have started using the API of “LoGo Chat,” a chat tool for local governments, to link with ChatGPT. The AI tool will help them create sentences, summarize sentences, correct spelling errors, and generate ideas to improve their operations.
Yokosuka City uses technology to efficiently and effectively carry out various operations while ensuring the staff’s focus on work that humans can only do. The city hall employees will work on tasks requiring unique skills, expertise, and judgment. The use of ChatGPT will help them contribute to the happiness of the citizens of Yokosuka.
The ChatGPT API will safely handle confidential and personal information to prevent secondary use. Yokosuka City’s press release appears to have been drafted using ChatGPT and then revised and issued by the staff.
The Japanese government is considering using AI to improve the efficiency of administrative work, such as preparing answers to parliamentary questions. Minister of State for Digital Affairs Taro Kono has shown interest in using AI in government administrative work. Central government ministries are considering using chatbots, including ChatGPT, for various tasks, such as helping formulate answers to lawmakers’ questions in parliament.
However, there are growing concerns regarding protecting personal information and data security issues associated with ChatGPT. In Italy, Chatbots were temporarily banned last month for failing to comply with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, which guarantees the “right to be forgotten.”
In Japan, some politicians believe that regulations are necessary to ensure the proper use of ChatGPT. The Japanese government does not appear to have any intention of regulating ChatGPT. Still, Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Takeaki Matsumoto plan to discuss measures to promote the use of AI and prevent its abuse with other countries at the upcoming G7 meeting.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT is gaining popularity worldwide, and it remains to be seen how governments will balance the benefits of this technology with the concerns about data security and personal information protection.
