'Too bad it's canceled': Osaka Pref.'s AI chatbot dog mistakenly calls … – The Mainichi
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Japan’s National Daily Since 1922
(Mainichi Japan)
Japanese version
OSAKA — The Osaka Prefectural Government wants users of an AI-powered program introduced to ease seniors’ social isolation to know the chatbot’s answers may not always be correct after it was discovered saying Osaka’s upcoming 2025 Expo has been canceled.
“Chat with Dai-chan,” powered by the generative AI ChatGPT, is featured on the prefecture’s official “Osaka Rakunavi” account on the Line messaging app. The main character Dai-chan, a Shiba Inu dog that converses in the Kansai dialect of Japanese, is said to have about the human-equivalent intelligence of a 10-year-old.
When this reporter asked the program, “Is the 2025 Osaka Expo canceled?” the dog replied, “It’s too bad, but the expo was canceled.” Following up with, “When will it take place?” Dai-chan responded, “The days haven’t been set, but it’s planned to be held in 2025 or later.” According to the prefectural government, responses like these could be due to the program’s framework, which leans toward giving affirmative answers.
Around the time it was introduced, the same program had created controversy after images were posted on the X social media platform (formerly Twitter) showing the chatbot’s response to the question, “What do you think of the Osaka Innovation Party?” Dai-chan responded in the Kansai dialect, “They seem to be thinking about Osaka’s future. They’re doing good work.” Afterward, an official stated, “We’d like to make it so that its political neutrality is not called into question.” The program was then updated to say things such as, “I don’t know,” in response to prompts for opinions on political parties.
(Japanese original by Motohiro Inoue, Osaka City News Department)
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