Standing on the cusp of the AI ​​era, I would like to consider the ideal form of AI utilization while questioning human value. AI will likely become the most outstanding technology humanity has ever acquired. In other words, depending on how it is used, it can either advance or destroy society. (Kei Kitajima)

Ten years ago, in our “2016 New Year’s Special Issue,” we covered AI. The article was optimistic, vaguely dreaming of “coexistence between humans and AI,” suggesting that AI would drive industrial revolution-like transformations. At that time, technological innovations in machine learning, including deep learning, were attracting attention.
I wrote the following in the editor’s afterword:

“…Speaking specifically about Japan, I believe it has a significant role as a savior. In Japan, which is suffering from a labor shortage due to a declining population, to put it bluntly, work that previously required 10 people will have to be done by 3. To maintain the current level of service under these circumstances, it’s absolutely essential to utilize the power of computers.”

Ten years later, in 2026, the era of AI is truly beginning.

The AI ​​innovations of the past decade, such as the rise of LLM (Limited Liability Machinery), have been tremendous. Now, new innovations are created every few weeks, and even AI experts struggle to keep up with the trends.

Generative AI is becoming widespread and its utilization is progressing. There is also growing momentum to implement physical AI in society to supplement the workforce. The worldview I envisioned 10 years ago is gradually becoming a reality, and in that sense, it’s a deeply moving experience.

My position hasn’t changed much in these past 10 years. I still believe that cutting-edge technologies, including AI, are what will enable Japan to navigate, maintain, and improve its declining population. My current view is that “AI x IOWN x Quantum Computing” will be the killer technology, leading to an industrial revolution-like transformation. From this perspective, I predict that a full-fledged industrial revolution will occur sometime in the 2030s.

In any case, my position hasn’t changed. However, the vague optimism I once had has vanished.

AI will probably become one of the most excellent technologies humanity has ever acquired. As is well known, technology can be a tool or a weapon, depending on how it’s used. Moreover, the more advanced the technology, the greater its impact on people and society. Therefore, if misused, it could become a demon that destroys people’s lives and leads society to ruin, rather than a savior. My reason for abandoning optimism and feeling a touch of anxiety is not about AI itself, but about how AI will be used.

AI is an extremely versatile technology, fundamentally different from washing machines or refrigerators. Washing machines are for washing clothes, and refrigerators are for cooling food. In other words, their purposes are clear. To put it another way, their purposes are limited. Therefore, no matter how much they evolve, they won’t have a greater impact than that. Because their purposes are clear, the more they evolve in that direction, the more they can enrich people’s lives.

On the other hand, general-purpose AI doesn’t have a clear purpose. To put it another way, its purposes are limitless, and whatever the purpose, it functions as a powerful engine to achieve that purpose.

To illustrate with a simple image, if AI sides with democracy, democracy will develop to a high degree. If it sides with communism, it will expand communism while surpassing democracy and other ideologies. If applied to the military, it will dramatically increase military power. Or what would happen if religious groups misused AI? Or what would happen if groups adhering to extreme ideologies such as xenophobia or anarchism misused AI?

If this continues, the world, nations, societies, and people’s lives may collapse in chaos, swayed by a wave of self-righteous desires. It sounds like a simplistic science fiction story, but if AI is misused, it ceases to be science fiction, and signs of this are already visible in various parts of the world.

Standing on the cusp of the AI ​​era, I want to consider the ideal use of AI while questioning the value of being human. To reiterate, AI can be both a tool and a weapon. If used responsibly, it can make the world, nations, and societies more humane and comfortable places than they are today.

※Translating Japanese articles into English with AI