A Japanese government council has decided to discuss as early as this summer regulations aimed at mainly developers of generative artificial intelligence.
As AI-related regulations take shape in Europe and the United States, Japan will discuss the introduction of legislation that will work alongside guidelines drawn up in April for business operators, the council said Wednesday.
The meeting of the government's AI Strategy Council on Wednesday was attended by experts and Cabinet ministers including science and technology policy minister Sanae Takaichi.
The envisaged regulations, which will mainly cover developers of generative AI, will be considered in the hopes of preventing the development of AI technologies that could lead to human rights violations, weapons production, crimes and terrorism.
The council will also discuss whether industry-specific regulations can be applied to AI service providers and users, given the need to mitigate risks from the application of generative AI technologies in medical equipment and self-driving vehicles.
AI developers, service providers and users considered to have a lower risk of causing negative impact will be subject to the guidelines, as opposed to legislation.
The European Union on Tuesday enacted its AI Act to regulate AI development and use. In October last year, U.S. President Joe Biden issued an executive order obliging AI developers to report the results of their safety checks.
In April, Japan released the guidelines for AI business operators, leaving it to them to take necessary measures themselves. Some people, however, have called for formal regulations.