OpenAI celebrates its new Japan office with a Japanese-optimized GPT-4 custom model

OpenAI Japan will be led by newly appointed CEO Tadao Nagasaki, who is expected to spearhead OpenAI Japan's commercial and marketing engagement efforts and to assist in the conformation of the local Global Affairs, Go-to-Market, Communications, and Operations teams, among other responsibilities. To honor its long-term commitment in Japan, OpenAI provided early access to businesses in the area to a custom Japanese-optimized version of GPT-4. The model is fast, cost-effective, and features improved Japanese summarizing and translation capabilities. Speak, a popular AI-powered English-learning app is leveraging the custom GPT-4 to provide tutor explanations 2.8x faster with a 47% cost reduction. Eventually, the Japanese-optimized GPT-4 model will be available in OpenAI's API.

Having a local presence in Japan also means that OpenAI is now closer to local governments and businesses leveraging ChatGPT to increase productivity by automating complex processes, performing assisted data analysis, and optimizing internal reporting. A notable example is Yokosuka City, which looks to make its public services more efficient by granting ChatGPT access to almost all city employees, with over 80% reporting increased productivity. Yokosuka City is at the forefront of a 21-local government network where it plans to share its experiences and develop best practices for ChatGPT usage in a government setting. In the wider picture, Japan chaired the G7 Hiroshima AI Process and is working to implement policies that leverage AI to address pressing issues such as rural depopulation and labor shortage while preserving the country's sustainability, human dignity, inclusion, and diversity goals.