Japan plans sovereign AI model, 10 million AI robots

Tokyo: Japan plans to develop a homegrown artificial intelligence model and have 10 million AI-equipped robots operating in more than a dozen sectors by 2040, the government said.

The country will reportedly invest around $6 billion in the homemade AI model, which will be developed by Noetra, a consortium of firms including SoftBank and Sony.

Countries around the world are seeking to develop sovereign AI models to reduce a potentially dangerous over-reliance on technology from the United States and China.

Media reports said that the government would provide up to one trillion yen ($6.1 billion) over the next five years, depending on the results of the initiative.

The number of companies investing in Noetra is expected to increase to 44 including those in the automotive, electronics and other manufacturing sectors as well as finance and logistics, the Nikkei business daily reported.

Noetra will focus in particular on physical AI, with the government also announcing on Tuesday a revised version of its AI robotics strategy.

Instead of just interacting with users via software on a screen, physical AI is about the deployment of artificial intelligence in real-world settings — such as self-driving cars, factory robots or even android butlers.

Despite massive investments and big plans for AI robots, their application and performance in real-life settings remain limited.

“This strategy sets a target of approximately 10 million robots to be deployed by 2040 and, with the addition of the restaurant, food manufacturing and medical sectors, will vigorously promote social implementation across a total of 18 fields,” Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa told reporters.

“We will build and grow data infrastructure for physical AI and robots that capitalise on Japan’s strengths,” he said.

With its ageing and shrinking population, Japan is also hoping that robots can help plug gaps in the workforce.

Last month Japan announced a 14-year growth strategy targeting public and private investment of 370 trillion yen ($2.3 trillion) in 17 sectors including physical AI, chips, quantum technology and nuclear fusion.

Neighbouring South Korea this week announced record public-private investments worth hundreds of billions of dollars into AI data centres and chipmaking over several years.