US, Japan Announce Research Initiatives to Ensure Safe AI Development

The United States and Japan are expanding their partnership to ensure the safe and responsible development of artificial intelligence.

On Tuesday, the two nations announced two new AI research initiatives, including one between Carnegie Mellon University and Keio University focused on several efforts, including autonomous AI symbiosis with humans, AI for scientific discovery and multilingual learning.

The research efforts are backed by $110 million investment from private companies, including Amazon, Microsoft and NVIDIA, and were disclosed as part of Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio’s April 2024 U.S. visit, the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Japan said.

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said that with the two nations’ shared values and expertise, the collaboration will ensure the development of an AI standard that will lead the international community.

The two countries have been collaborating on a wide range of AI-related projects. In December 2023, the two countries disclosed a research agreement to work on integrating artificial intelligence and machine learning with drones.

The U.S. and Japan also entered into a partnership to develop hypersonic missile interceptor technology at a time when foreign adversaries were expanding their missile arsenals.