Yokosuka City says it has become the first local government in Japan to use ChatGPT in its operations, on an experimental basis.
ChatGPT is a generative artificial intelligence released in November last year. Its use has been rapidly spreading among companies and others.
The city in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, started a monthlong trial of the technology at its city hall on Thursday.
Throughout the trial, ChatGPT will be made available on the city's business chat system. About 4,000 employees will be encouraged to use ChatGPT in their routine work, such as creating minutes of meetings and drafting policy proposals, to see how usable and cost-effective the technology is.
Some employees say ChatGPT is helping them do work in less than half the normal time.
City hall employees are not allowed to put personal or classified information into ChatGPT, given concerns being raised internationally about protecting privacy when using the fast-evolving technology.
The accuracy of information provided by ChatGPT is another concern.
When a Yokosuka official asked it what the city's population is, ChatGPT said about 425,000 as of September 2021. The correct figure was 385,000.
Yokosuka officials say they don't know why ChatGPT got it wrong. As a result, the city is asking its staff not to use ChatGPT as a search engine, as information it provides may not be accurate.
Yokosuka Mayor Kamiji Katsuaki says he hopes AI technology will help make the city's operations more efficient, so that employees can focus more on welfare and other types of work that only humans can do well.
ChatGPT is a generative artificial intelligence released in November last year. Its use has been rapidly spreading among companies and others.
The city in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, started a monthlong trial of the technology at its city hall on Thursday.
Throughout the trial, ChatGPT will be made available on the city's business chat system. About 4,000 employees will be encouraged to use ChatGPT in their routine work, such as creating minutes of meetings and drafting policy proposals, to see how usable and cost-effective the technology is.
Some employees say ChatGPT is helping them do work in less than half the normal time.
City hall employees are not allowed to put personal or classified information into ChatGPT, given concerns being raised internationally about protecting privacy when using the fast-evolving technology.
The accuracy of information provided by ChatGPT is another concern.
When a Yokosuka official asked it what the city's population is, ChatGPT said about 425,000 as of September 2021. The correct figure was 385,000.
Yokosuka officials say they don't know why ChatGPT got it wrong. As a result, the city is asking its staff not to use ChatGPT as a search engine, as information it provides may not be accurate.
Yokosuka Mayor Kamiji Katsuaki says he hopes AI technology will help make the city's operations more efficient, so that employees can focus more on welfare and other types of work that only humans can do well.
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Summary
Yokosuka City in Japan experimentally employs ChatGPT, a November-released AI, for a month. Approx. 4,000 employees will test its use in tasks like drafting and creating minutes of meetings. Concerns over privacy and accuracy have been raised; the AI may not protect personal information and might
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ID: 7e754103-a8c6-4247-8d55-a01350deea99
Category ID: nhk
URL: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230420_28/
Date: April 20, 2023
Created: 2023/04/21 07:20
Updated: 2025/12/09 04:47
Last Read: 2023/04/21 07:23