Why Japanese firms are being so slow to use AI - BBC News

Japanese risk aversion and conservatism blamed for slow AI take-up by the country's business sector.

Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesImage caption, Studies show that Japanese firms are dragging their feet when it comes to using AI

Facing acute labour shortages, ageing demographics and chronic productivity problems, Japanese companies should be fertile ground for the take-up of artificial intelligence (AI). Yet, compared with the US and UK, adoption in many workplaces remains sluggish and cautious.

Japan's response to AI is beginning to resemble one of the country's slow-moving, traditional Noh plays.

All the masked characters up on stage agree that action is urgent, and the call is repeated with solemn agreement. Yet the actors remain frozen in place.

Great for heightening drama, terrible for addressing the country's immediate difficulties.