Artificial intelligence, Microsoft is also targeting Japan against China and Russia
Microsoft will invest $2.9 billion in Japan for artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. The American company thinks that AI will support Japanese productivity, offsetting the demographic decline. All the details
Microsoft announced a $2.9 billion investment in artificial intelligence in Japan over two years. The money will be used to upgrade the company's infrastructure dedicated to cloud computing and artificial intelligence, equipping it with advanced semiconductors, as well as to build a research laboratory in Tokyo and to promote the specialized training of three million people.
KISHIDA'S VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES
The announcement – Microsoft's largest investment in forty-six years of activity in Japan – came at the same time as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's visit to the United States, which led to the signing of bilateral agreements on defense and aerospace . Kishida will also discuss with American President Joe Biden a project for a high-speed train in Texas (the technology used will be Japanese) and the issues surrounding the acquisition of the steel company US Steel by Nippon Steel .
MICROSOFT, JAPAN AND DATA SECURITY
In an interview with Japanese newspaper Nikkei , Microsoft President Ben Smith said the adoption of artificial intelligence and the development of domestic technological capabilities have become "a critical national priority for governments around the world."
And in fact the Japanese government is defining measures to equip itself with greater computing power, necessary for artificial intelligence systems. It has also introduced restrictions on the transfer of its population data abroad; As a result of these limitations, several cloud computing companies have announced new investments in data centers in Japan.
AI FOR COMPETITIVENESS
Smith added that “the competitiveness of every part of the Japanese economy will depend on the adoption of artificial intelligence” because it will allow it to “sustain productivity growth even when a country has a declining population”.
ROBOTICS AND CYBERSECURITY
Microsoft's new laboratory in Tokyo will be dedicated to research on robotics and artificial intelligence: in this regard, the company will finance the universities of Tokyo and Keio with almost 10 million dollars over five years.
Microsoft will also work with the Japanese government to strengthen the country's cybersecurity level. Smith explained that “the cybersecurity threat landscape has become more challenging. We see this particularly from China and Russia, but we also see growing ransomware activity around the world. " According to him, "close collaboration between major technology companies and governments" is essential to defend cyberspace.
OTHER INVESTMENTS BY AMERICAN BIG TECH
Not only Microsoft, but also other US technology companies are investing in creating data centers abroad. For example, Amazon Web Services will invest 5.3 billion dollars in Saudi Arabia, while Alphabet is building a 1 billion data center near London.
Amazon's Amazon Web Services, Microsoft's Azure and Alphabet's Google Cloud are, in order, the three largest cloud computing companies in the world.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/microsoft-giappone-investimento-intelligenza-artificiale/ on Wed, 10 Apr 2024 12:52:53 +0000.