Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg held discussions with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during his visit to Japan, focusing on the potential risks associated with generative AI, as reported by various sources.
“Following our 30-minute meeting on Tuesday, we engaged in a fruitful discussion regarding AI and its implications for the future of technology,” Zuckerberg was quoted by local media as saying.
Expressing enthusiasm for the advancements in Japan, Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, highlighted the importance of the dialogue. The meeting reportedly involved Joel Kaplan, Meta’s vice president of global public policy.
Generative artificial intelligence, led by technologies like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, possesses the capability to swiftly generate text, images, and audio from basic prompts. While its rapid progress holds promise for various fields including video games and politics, it also carries potential negative ramifications.
This month, Meta, alongside 19 other major tech companies including OpenAI, pledged to combat the dissemination of AI-generated content designed to mislead voters ahead of crucial global elections this year.
Previously, technology conglomerates had reached an agreement to adopt a standardized watermarking method, which would label images produced by AI applications such as ChatGPT, Meta’s Llama, Microsoft’s Copilot, and Google’s Gemini.
During his stay in Japan, 39-year-old Zuckerberg combined business with leisure activities, including skiing with his family, training under a Japanese sword master, and dining at McDonald’s.
On Tuesday night, he flew on a private aircraft to Seoul, South Korea’s capital, marking the next leg of his Asian tour, as reported by local outlet Maeil Business News. It is anticipated that he will meet with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and executives from global tech giants Samsung and LG, according to local media sources.
“We are working in conjunction with Meta to organize a meeting,” stated a spokesperson from Yoon’s office to AFP on Wednesday.
Zuckerberg is slated to confer with the CEO of LG Electronics regarding the development of a mixed-reality headset aimed at competing with Apple’s Vision Pro, as reported by the Korea Economic Daily.
Maeil Business News mentioned that his itinerary in South Korea also encompasses a meeting with the head of Samsung Electronics, one of the world’s leading smartphone and semiconductor manufacturers.
Following his engagements in South Korea, Zuckerberg is scheduled to attend the extravagant pre-wedding celebrations from March 1st to 3rd for the son of Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, an oil-to-telecom conglomerate, according to reports.
Meta, Google, and other entities have injected billions of dollars into Reliance’s digital arm, Jio Platforms, as it endeavors to rival Amazon and Walmart in India’s expansive e-commerce sector.
