Human Centric A I
Human Centric A I
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Introduction 1
2 Basic Philosophy 4
5 Conclusion 11
Appendix About the Establishment of the "Council for Social Principles of Human-centric AI" 12
1 Introduction
Our modern society faces many challenges that endanger the survival of humankind such
as global environmental problems, growing economic disparity, and the depletion of resources.
Japan is the first country to tackle many social issues confronting a mature society, such as
the declining birthrate and aging population, labor shortage, rural depopulation, and increased
fiscal spending. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is considered a key technology to rescue society
from these problems, to address the goals set forth in the United Nation's Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), and to build a sustainable world.
Japan, with the establishment of Society5.0 1, whose purpose is to address social issues and
economic development using AI, aims to revitalize its society and economy, to be an
internationally attractive society, and to contribute to the SDGs on a global scale.
Similar to many other types of science and technology, AI will bring many great benefits
to society, but its large impact on society calls for appropriate development and
implementation. In order to avoid or reduce the negative aspects in advance while making
effective use of AI to benefit society, we should promote, together with the continued research
and development (R&D) of technologies related to AI, a transformation into an "AI-Ready
Society" where AI can be used effectively and safely. We need to redesign society in every
way including Japan's human potential, social systems, industrial structures, innovation
systems, and governance.
Depending on the researcher, there are various ways of thinking about the definition of AI
(Artificial Intelligence), a central theme of this document, and there is no clear definition at
present. For example, the EC High-Level Expert Group report 2 defines AI as a system that
performs intelligent operations (which may have some autonomy) in response to environment
and input. However, the expression "intelligent operation" itself is somewhat vague and open
for interpretation. Also, the AI100 Report 3 published in the United States in 2016 cites Nils J.
Nilsson's definition 4 of AI as a field of research according to which "Artificial intelligence is
that activity devoted to making machines intelligent, and intelligence is that quality that
enables an entity to function appropriately and with foresight in its environment", but this
definition is also highly ambiguous. In actuality, the vague definition of AI within the same
report in and of itself has a positive side that is accelerating the study of AI. In light of these
circumstances, although there is a certain consensus on what to judge as AI or AI technology,
it does not appear appropriate at this time to define it more strictly.
In addition, various technologies normally called "AI" are seldom used alone but instead
are generally incorporated and used as part of an information system. Advanced and complex
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Society 5.0 is the future society that Japan aims for, following the Information Society (Society 4.0). A society
that realizes Society 5.0 is a sustainable human-centric society that implements AI, IoT (Internet of Things),
robotics and other cutting-edge technologies to create unprecedented value, and a wide range of people can realize
their own well-being while respecting the well-being of others.
2 High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence (AI HLEG), "Draft Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI",
and "A definition of AI: Main capabilities and scientific disciplines", European Commission, Directorate-General
for Communication, December 2018.
3 Stone, P., et al., "Artificial Intelligence and Life 2030. One Hundred Year Study on Artificial Intelligence: Report
of the 2015-2016 Study Panel", Stanford University, Stanford, CA, Sept. 2016.
4 Nils J. Nilsson, The Quest for Artificial Intelligence: A History of Ideas and Achievements, Cambridge, UK:
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information systems may incorporate a broad range of AI technologies; moreover, they may
incorporate technologies reflected in the principles stated in this document. Based on these
two premises, the principles herein may be regarded as applying to any "highly complex
information systems in general" that include any such technology. Given such consideration,
we do not define a particular technology or system as "AI", but regard AI as "highly complex
information systems in general". After discussing some of the impacts on society, we will
present a set of AI social principles and identify some issues to consider in AI R&D and social
implementation. In order to make the ensuing Society 5.0 as effective as possible, it is
essential for all relevant stakeholders to cooperate and interact closely with each other.
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Figure 1 shows the overall structure of this document.
Section 2 Basic
Philosophy
Section 3 Vision
(AI-Ready Society)
5 An "AI-Ready Society" means that society as a whole has undergone the necessary changes to maximize the
benefits of AI, enjoys the benefits of AI, or has introduced AI immediately when needed and is in a state of being
able to receive the benefits. It means "a society adapted to the use of AI". For this purpose, society as a whole needs
to be transformed, including individuals, business organizations, and the social innovation environment.
Individually, for example, everyone should acquire appropriate AI literacy that allows them to use AI for work and
life. In business organizations, meanwhile, corporate activities should be developed with strategies premised on the
use of AI. In the social innovation environment, all information should be digitized in a form that allows for AI
analysis, should be transformed into data, and should be maintained in a state in which it can be used for AI
development and service provision.
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2 Basic Philosophy
We believe we should respect the following three values as our philosophy and build a
society that pursues their realization.
We should not build a society where humans are overly dependent on AI or where AI
is used to control human behavior through the excessive pursuit of efficiency and
convenience. We need to construct a society where human dignity is respected and, by
using AI as a tool, a society where people can better demonstrate their various human
abilities, show greater creativity, engage in challenging work, and live richer lives both
physically and mentally.
(2) Diversity & Inclusion: A society where people with diverse backgrounds can pursue
their own well-being
It is both an ideal in the modern world and a major challenge to create a society in
which people with diverse backgrounds, values and ways of thinking can pursue their own
well-being while society creates new value by flexibly embracing them. AI is a technology
powerful enough to bring us closer to this ideal. We need to change the nature of society
in this way through the appropriate development and deployment of AI.
We need to use AI to create a succession of new businesses and solutions, resolve social
disparities, and develop a sustainable society that can deal with issues such as global
environmental problems and climate change. Japan, as a leading science and technology-
oriented country, has an obligation to strengthen its accumulated scientific and
technological resources by utilizing AI and thereby contributing to the creation of such a
sustainable society.
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3 Social Changes Needed to Realize Society 5.0 "AI-Ready Society"
Technologies expected to contribute to the realization of Society 5.0 include AI, IoT,
Robotics, and ultra-high-speed broadband communication networks. Even if it becomes
possible to some extent to entrust complex processes to machines using AI, it is still necessary
for humans to set objectives that answer the question "What are we using AI for?" While AI
can be used to better society, it might also be used for undesirable purposes or in inappropriate
ways unconsciously. For this reason, we are advancing technological developments in terms
of Human Potential, Social Systems, Industrial Structures, Innovation Systems, and
Governance which can answer the question "What are we using AI for?" while paying close
attention to their interaction with the progress of technology. These five aspects are equally
important in achieving Society 5.0.
In an "AI-Ready Society" that is responsive to the spread of AI to every corner of society, how
human beings respond to AI is the key to realizing a society where AI can be fully utilized. To that
end, the expected abilities and roles of people are as follows.
A) People should fully understand the advantages and disadvantages of AI. In particular, people
should have the ability to recognize that biases are included in the algorithms and/or data that
will become the information resources of AI, and for example, that these biases may be used
for undesirable purposes. In addition, people should recognize that there are three types of data
bias: statistical bias, bias caused by social conditions, and bias arising from malicious intent
among AI users.
B) It is preferred that the use of AI will create an environment in which many people can engage
in highly creative and productive work. To that end, it is expected that a diverse range of people
will acquire the ability to realize their own dreams and ideas with AI's support despite many
differences in origin, culture, taste, and so on. An education system that achieves these goals as
well as social systems that contribute to their achievement must be realized.
C) It is important to have sufficient human resources with acquired application skills such as
implementation and design of AI systems and a basic knowledge of data and AI. These skills
would be acquired in a cross-disciplinary range of fields in a combined and integrated
framework. It is expected that such human resources will be the driving force of all activities in
society, and that the capabilities of those people will contribute to the formation of an AI-based
living environment. Given the establishment of such a living environment, we must implement
social systems that allow many people to live a richer and more fulfilling life.
The use of AI will most likely accelerate the evolution of individual service solutions and create
various benefits from improved efficiency and individualization. In order to embrace the full benefits
of this change in society, it is necessary for entire social systems including health care, finance,
insurance, transportation, energy, and others to flexibly change and respond to the evolution of AI.
This includes simple efficiency in light of existing socially accepted objectives (such as improved
convenience and liberation from simple labor tasks). It also includes the realization of new value
potentially created by diversification and fluidization of objectives and resolving negative outcomes
(such as inequality, widening disparity, social exclusion, and so on) that may result from the evolution
of AI.
To this end, we need to implement flexible architecture designs equipped with mechanisms for
expandability, interoperability, developing improved social order, and so on, both in the software and
the hardware aspects of each social system. Additionally, we need to establish a common data
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utilization infrastructure for various social systems, in particular to ensure interoperability and
connectivity.
In order for a diverse group of people to realize their assorted dreams and ideas, it is necessary for
labor as well as employment and entrepreneur environments to be flexible and internationally open.
For this reason, companies should compete fairly and promote flexible working styles, human
creativity should continually be demonstrated throughout industries, and investment in startup
businesses should be promoted.
It is necessary for universities, research institutions, industries, and the public at large
to participate in AI's R&D, utilization and evaluation across fields and positions,
stimulating each other, and creating an environment in which innovation can flourish.
To that end, all types of data including real space data should be instantaneously and
securely available at a level that AI can analyze. Additionally, it is advisable to ensure
privacy and security so that everyone can provide and distribute data with ease, and for
there to be an environment where they can benefit from the data that they have provided.
(5) Governance
It is always necessary to continue to update the content and defined purposes discussed
in the above-mentioned sections Human Potential, Social Systems, Industrial Structures,
and Innovation Systems in line with social changes and technological developments.
For that reason, it is necessary to have a system that can be implemented and in place
for various stakeholders, including government, industry, universities, research
institutions, and the general public. Then they will be able to work together on such
matters as identifying issues, evaluating impacts, and making decisions on regulatory
governance including rules, systems, standardization and codes of conduct. Additionally,
it is necessary to listen to people, including those who have a difficult time having their
opinions heard, in addition the various stakeholders, and to establish a system that
continuously addresses the most advanced social and technical issues. When
implementing such governance, flexible and effective measures should be taken not only
in terms of the law but also by means of industries with appropriate technical means
taking the initiative. In addition, international coordination for governance is important,
and in addition to governance in each individual country, an international system of
cooperation for dealing with cross-border problems should be established.
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4 Social Principles of Human-Centric AI
In order for AI to be accepted and properly used by society, we will systemize these basic
principles into "Social Principles of AI" to which society (especially state legislative and
administrative bodies) should pay attention, and "R&D and Utilization Principles of AI" to
which developers and operators engaged in AI R&D and social implementation should pay
attention. The "Social Principles of AI" necessary for realizing a society with the three basic
principles listed in Section 2, and the "R&D and Utilization Principles of AI" that developers
and business operators should consider, are as follows:
The utilization of AI must not infringe upon the fundamental human rights guaranteed
by the Constitution and international standards.
AI can expand human abilities and creativity not only by replacing aspects of human
labor but also by assisting humans as a technologically advanced tool.
When using AI, people must judge and decide for themselves how to use it. The
appropriate stakeholders involved in the development, delivery and utilization of
AI should be responsible for the consequences of AI utilization, depending on the
nature of the problem.
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misused. AI users should have a general understanding of AI and should acquire
sufficient education to use it properly, given that AI platforms are much more
complicated than already developed conventional tools. Regarding developers of AI,
meanwhile, it is of course necessary for them to master the basics of AI technology.
Additionally, from the viewpoint of developing AI that is useful to society, it is
important for developers to learn business models for how AI can be used in society, as
well as to master a wide range of liberal arts such as social sciences and ethics including
normative consciousness.
From this point of view, we believe that an educational environment that fosters
education and literacy in accordance with the following principles must be provided
equally to all people.
With regard to literacy education and skills required to use AI, our society needs an
educational system that allows anyone to acquire the basics of AI, mathematics, and
data science. All people need to learn beyond the boundaries of literature and
science. It is also necessary to prepare content in literacy education on the limits of
security and AI technology in order to raise awareness of AI and data
characteristics. These characteristics include bias in data, the possibility of causing
bias depending on how AI is used, and issues of fairness, impartiality, and privacy
protection that are inherently needed in the use of AI.
Not all AI technologies increase the risk associated with the use of personal data, but
in a society premised on AI, it is still possible to gauge each person's political position,
economic situation, personal hobbies, personal preferences, and so forth with great
accuracy based on data about matters such as data subject's individual behavior. This
means, when utilizing AI, that more careful discretion may be required than the mere
handling of personal data in accordance with the level of importance and sensitivity of
the data. Each stakeholder must handle personal data based on the following principles
to ensure that no individuals are disadvantaged from the unexpected distribution or use
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of personal data in undesirable ways.
We should make sure that any AI using personal data and any service solutions that
use AI, including use by the government, do not infringe on a person's individual
freedom, dignity or equality.
The active use of AI automates many social systems and greatly improves safety. On
the other hand, at least within the scope of currently available technologies, it is not
always possible for AI to respond appropriately to rare events or deliberate attacks.
Therefore, the use of AI poses a new set of risks to security. Society should always be
aware of the balance between the benefits and risks, and endeavor to improve social
safety and sustainability as a whole.
Society must promote broad, deep research and development related to AI (from
immediate measures to deep essential understanding), such as the proper assessment
of risks in the utilization of AI and research to reduce risks. Society must make firm
efforts to conduct risk management including the safeguard of cybersecurity.
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not have a society where unfair data collection and unfair competition take place
using their dominant position.
The use of AI should not generate a situation where wealth and social influence are
unfairly biased towards certain stakeholders.
Under AI's design concept, all people are treated fairly without unjustified
discrimination on the grounds of diverse backgrounds such as race, gender,
nationality, age, political beliefs, religion, and so on.
In order for people to understand AI's proposals and make judgments on them, there
should be appropriate opportunities for an open dialogue, as required, regarding the
use, adoption, and operation of AI.
Taking into account the above viewpoints and in order to use AI safely in society,
a mechanism must be established to ensure trust in AI, and in the data and
algorithms that support it.
To realize Society 5.0 and aim for continuous innovation that advances as people
evolve together with AI development, we should transcend boundaries such as
national borders, industries, academia, governments, race, gender, nationality, age,
political convictions and religion. We should promote total globalization,
diversification, and industry-academia-government cooperation in both human
resources and research, based on a wide range of knowledge, perspectives, ideas, and
so on.
To implement AI efficiently and safely in society, methods for confirming the quality
and reliability of AI, and for efficient collection and maintenance of data used by AI
must be promoted. In addition to establishing AI engineering such as methods for the
development, testing and operation of AI, it is necessary to promote the establishment
and development of a wide range of studies such as ethical and economic aspects of
AI.
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security, it is necessary to establish a platform environment where data from all fields
can be effectively utilized across national borders without being monopolized. In
addition, to promote research on AI, R&D environments should be established where
computer resources and high-speed networks that promote international collaboration
and accelerate AI are shared and used.
The government must proceed with regulatory reforms to reduce impeding factors in
all related fields in order to establish an efficient and beneficial society with the aid
of AI technologies.
We believe that developers and business operators of AI should establish and comply with
the AI development and utilization principles based on the fundamental philosophy and social
principles of AI outlined above.
5 Conclusion
In order to lead the world in building the first "AI-Ready Society," Japan should share the
principles herein with the government, related industries, organizations, and so on, and reflect
them in government policies.
In addition, Japan should share these principles with other countries around the world and
take a leadership role in international discussions with the goal of establishing an AI-Ready
Society worldwide. In doing so, Japan should present to the world a social image of Society
5.0 that supports the realization of the SDGs, and should contribute to cooperative and creative
new development of the international community.
These principles should be flexibly revised in the future according to the progress of AI-
related technologies, social changes, changes in the world situation, and many other factors.
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[Appendix]
1. The "Council for Social Principles of Human-centric AI" (hereinafter the "Council") is
established, under the AI Strategy Expert Meeting for Strength and Promotion of the
Innovation, for the purpose of examining the basic principles for implementing and sharing
AI in a better way and reflecting it in AI strategy. Based on discussions in the "Review
Council for Social Principles of Human-centric AI" established under the Artificial
Intelligence Technology Strategy Council, this Council will examine "Social Principles of
Human-centric AI" and propose them to the Integrated Innovation Strategy Promotion
Council.
2. The Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and members of the Council are as described in the
attachment.
3. The Council as a rule will be open to the public. However, this will not be the case when
the Chairperson deems it appropriate not to make the proceedings public.
4. The Chairperson will make the contents of discussion at Council meetings publicly
available by publishing the minutes of meetings and any other appropriate means. However,
when the Chairperson deems it appropriate not to make public the contents of discussion at
Council meetings, all or part of the contents may remain undisclosed.
5. The Cabinet Office with the cooperation of relevant administrative agencies will handle the
general affairs of Council meetings.
6. The Chairperson shall determine any matters concerning the operation of Council meetings
and other necessary matters not previously listed in preceding clauses.
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(Attachment)
◎Chairperson
Osamu SUDOH Professor, Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information
Studies, The University of Tokyo; Director of the Center for
Research and Development of Higher Education, The
University of Tokyo
〇 Vice-Chairperson
Hiroaki KITANO Chair, Task Force on Principles of AI Applications, Committee
on New Industry and Technology, Japan Business Federation
(Keidanren); President and CEO, Sony Computer Science
Laboratories, Inc.
〇 Members
Kazuto ATAKA Professor, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies,
Keio University; Chief Strategy Officer, Yahoo Japan
Corporation
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Satoshi SEKIGUCHI Vice-President, National Institute of Advanced Industrial
Science and Technology
END
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