持続可能な開発のための2030アジェンダ

I would like to deliver my remarks on behalf of Foreign Minister Yoko KAMIKAWA, who sends her regrets for not being able to participate in this very relevant event. She is the President of the Parliamentarians League on SDGs and has been particularly involved in population issues, SRHR, water and sanitation.

It is a real pleasure for Japan to co-host this event.

This year, we are at the midpoint toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The international community is gathered in NY this week to accelerate efforts to achieve the SDGs.

The theme of this event, "AI for the Accelerating Progress on the SDGs," is quite opportune. Each country faces unique challenges in achieving the SDGs, but there is a limit to what can be attained by simply continuing our current efforts. It is necessary to take an approach that inter-links various efforts together through comprehensive and integrated solutions that will help to achieve to all of the SDGs. To this end, we need to optimize the use of innovative new technologies. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has great potential to become such a technology.

Above all, AI has an enormous potential to help us overcome trade-offs and create synergies among multiple goals, in addition to its significant contribution to addressing each individual goal.

Let me give you an example. There is a difficult trade-off between reducing greenhouse gas emissions on the one hand and ensuring a stable energy supply on the other hand. Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power are effective at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but they are weak in stable supply because they are dependent on weather conditions. However, if we could dynamically optimize both supply and demand within the entire energy system with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence systems, we could not only stabilize energy supply using renewable sources, but also improve profitability for both suppliers and consumers engaged in the energy market. This is not an “if” anymore. Japanese electric power suppliers are combining IoT sensors, weather forecasts, mega data, AI to optimize supply and demand. Such practices must be mainstreamed.

At the same time, AI has serious inherent risks. For instance, biases in AI training data with respect to language, ethnicity and gender may end up exacerbating prejudice and discrimination. Also, we must not let the benefits of AI be monopolized by a few due to uneven distribution of data, infrastructure, and capital. Furthermore, we must address the risk of social instability caused by disinformation and misinformation, as well as the increasing sophistication of digital crimes. Given the enormous potential of AI, it is imperative to deepen discussions on these specific risks.

The most important thing to do now is to crystallize the universal values of the SDGs into AI rules and disseminate them widely. From this perspective, Japan is calling on the international community to realize a "Human-centered AI Society”. The basic elements of this society are "human dignity," "diversity and inclusiveness," and "sustainability." In other words, the core principles of the SDGs should be applied to the use of AI.

With this in mind, Japan has led the international rulemaking process for governing AI, including the G20 AI Principles. Given the rapid growth of generative AI, Japan launched the "Hiroshima AI Process" this May, and has been discussing international rules for governing AI with the G7 members and international organizations. Japan will host the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) this coming October in Kyoto, where we will hear a wide range of opinions from various stakeholders. Together with multi-stakeholders, including governments, the private sector, civil society, and academia, Japan will continue to work on the formulation and dissemination of appropriate AI rules, which may also contribute to the achievement of the SDGs.

The more ubiquitous that AI becomes, the greater the efforts that the international community will need to make in human resource development and development assistance related to AI. In this regard, Japan has been working with developing countries on human resource development in the digital field, as well as on social problem-solving through implementation of digital technologies. We already have a number of AI and SDGs projects going on to save forests, increase food production, and preserve biodiversity. We have also now included digital technology as a policy priority in Japan's new Development Cooperation Charter. Going forward, Japan will accelerate efforts toward the achievement of the SDGs among the entire international community, through assistance for digital infrastructures, including “investment in people,” in developing countries.