On April 22, Keio University and the Royal Danish Embassy co-hosted a symposium on Keio's Mita Campus titled "Danish Digitalization and Ethical Data Use."
Speakers at this symposium included the Danish Minister for Digital Government and Gender Equality, Marie Bjerre, the Ambassador of Denmark to Japan, Peter Taksøe-Jensen, and other business representatives from Denmark. From the Japanese side, speakers included the Minister for Digital Transformation, Taro Kono, the mayor of Kitakyushu, Kazuhisa Takeuchi, the president of Keio University, Kohei Itoh, and Keio University's vice-president for Global Engagement, Motohiro Tsuchiya. In total, approximately 80 people attended the event, including faculty members, staff, and students.
During the symposium, Minister Bjerre, Minister Kono, and President Itoh held a panel discussion on the theme, "Innovation through the Ethical Use of Data and AI." Minister Bjerre emphasized the importance of digital literacy as we try to find ethical and responsible ways of utilizing data through AI-driven services. She then went on to discuss digitalization measures Denmark is taking to confront the declining labor force as well as their efficient green transition initiatives which are aimed at solving the country's energy crisis. Minister Kono raised the issue in generative AI of needing to increase data sets in languages other than English as the technology relies overwhelmingly on English at present. President Itoh then pointed out how it is essential that companies and universities work closely with one another to train up experts who are able to use this technology to its fullest potential without being swayed by generative AI.
During the latter half of the symposium, CEOs from various Danish corporations took to the stage to introduce services they provide which rely on cutting-edge technologies and practical examples of how they have been implemented. Mayor Takeuchi from Kitakyushu then went into detail about the "SUMARAKU Ward Office Service Project" (
Sumaraku Kuyakusho), an online support window for Kitakyushu's city hall powered by technology that came about through a collaboration with Danish corporation.
After an engaging Q&A session with the audience, Vice-President Tsuchiya concluded the symposium by reaffirming that though there are many ethical challenges related to data using AI technologies such as generative AI, the importance of strategically and responsibly implementing AI is vital to ensure the best possible outcome for our future world.