During the Reiwa Era, generative AI has spread rapidly and is changing society itself. At the same time, sustainability has become a global challenge.
Basic Knowledge
In November 2022, OpenAI released the conversational AI ChatGPT, which gained 100 million users in two months(the fastest in history). Generative AI spread rapidly. In March 2023, GPT-4 appeared, followed by Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude, and Meta Llama. In image generation, Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and DALL-E attracted attention. In 2024, Nobel Prize research using AI also appeared(Hassabis and Jumper for AlphaFold received the Chemistry Prize, and Hinton received the Physics Prize). In Japan, in April 2024, the government created the AI Business Guidelines. The 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo(EXPO 2025) was also held under the theme "Designing a Future Society Where Life Shines."
September 2015 SDGs adopted at a UN summit(target year 2030)
17 goals: poverty, hunger, health, education, gender equality, water, energy, decent work, industry and infrastructure, inequality, cities, responsible production and consumption, climate change, oceans, land, peace, and partnerships
2021 Japan ranked 120th of 156 countries in the Gender Gap Index
2050 Japan's target for virtually zero greenhouse-gas emissions(carbon neutrality)
2030 Japan's target: a 46% reduction from 2013
In Depth (Background and Impact)
SDGs(Sustainable Development Goals) are 17 goals and 169 targets adopted at the United Nations summit in September 2015 for achievement by 2030. Their predecessor was the MDGs(2000-2015). Their slogan is "Leave no one behind". In decarbonization, carbon neutrality has become a global goal, accelerating the spread of EVs(electric vehicles) and the expansion of renewable energy(solar and wind power). Meanwhile, the spread of AI has raised issues such as changes in employment, copyright, misinformation(deepfakes), personal information, and military use(autonomous weapons). In 2024, the EU enacted the world's first comprehensive AI regulation law(AI Act), introducing graduated regulation according to risk. Balancing technology and ethics is one of the greatest challenges of the modern age.
- ChatGPT released = November 2022(OpenAI)
- SDGs adopted = September 2015 by the United Nations; target year 2030; 17 goals
- SDGs slogan = "Leave no one behind"
- Carbon neutrality = target of virtually zero emissions by 2050
- EU AI regulation law = 2024, the world's first comprehensive regulation
- Osaka-Kansai Expo = 2025, "Designing a Future Society Where Life Shines"
Points to Note (Easy to Confuse)
① Distinguish MDGs(2000-2015, Millennium Development Goals) from SDGs(2015-2030, Sustainable Development Goals). ② The SDGs have 17 goals and 169 targets. ③ Carbon neutrality(zero emissions) and carbon offsetting(compensating for emissions elsewhere) are different concepts. ④ AI includes types such as machine learning, deep learning, and generative AI; LLMs such as ChatGPT are a type of generative AI.
Practice
- In what year and month did OpenAI release the conversational generative AI "ChatGPT"?
- In what year were the SDGs adopted by the United Nations, and how many goals are there?
- What is Japan's target year for achieving virtually zero greenhouse-gas emissions(carbon neutrality)?