*This article is a quote from "Everything you need to know! 5G Business 2022 (Nikkei Mook)". This magazine ishereYou can purchase from.

Phase of accumulating and analyzing data in preparation for multiple simultaneous changes

-The spread of 5G is expected to lead to the development of an IoT society. What changes might occur?

Although we believe that this will have a major impact on the industry as a whole in the long term, we do not see anything major changing immediately in the next two to three years. First, data will be accumulated, and then AI and other technologies will be developed, and it will probably be 4 to 5 years before we can actually feel that something has changed.

At the moment, it feels like there is no change, but I believe that in five years' time, changes will occur simultaneously in various fields. For example, unmanned convenience stores and supermarkets are currently being operated on an experimental basis, but it is predicted that they will be deployed worldwide around 2025 as IoT becomes more widespread. We believe that changes will occur not only in logistics such as unmanned convenience stores, but also in manufacturing and sub-supply chain management.

-Do you think the areas where AI will be used will increase as communication infrastructure improves?

In the process where large amounts of data are exchanged at high speed, AI is essential for analyzing it. In extreme terms, I think we are reaching a situation where we can't do anything without AI.
Clear Metal is a start-up company in the United States. They are in the logistics business, and they provide a service that lets you know where your packages are in real time. Japan has a well-developed logistics system, including the last mile, but in the United States, which is a large country, it was common to not know when your package would arrive. They created an API that allows accurate delivery times and provided it to delivery companies and commerce companies using e-commerce sites, which received great acclaim.

The key word is understanding what is happening in real time. As one of the major changes in IoT society, it is expected to develop in various fields such as manufacturing, medical care, and food and beverage, and has great potential. In addition, one area where AI is expanding the possibilities of its use is "dialogue with customers." Until now, trying to communicate with customers involved large costs such as setting up a call center. However, by splitting the system so that AI handles most of the communication with customers, and in-house staff handles only the most difficult interactions, it is possible to operate leaner and more effectively, and improve customer satisfaction.

-The latest chatbots are said to have response capabilities comparable to humans.

AI will evolve as data accumulates, and I think the development of algorithms will also be one of the factors. GPT-3 is an AI in the natural language field that has been attracting attention recently. This is an AI that has the ability to recognize language and write sentences on its own, achieving a level of perfection that makes it indistinguishable from blogs written by humans. Depending on the content, some texts may be rated higher than those written by other people.

In the past, improvements in input through voice recognition have taken the lead in dialogue through AI, but we are now at a stage where natural responses can be provided as output, and we are providing services that are even more human-like. In China, AI has already advanced to the point where it can make phone calls and answer calls to remind people of loan payments.

Pursuing what only humans can do and aiming for steady growth

-How do you think advances in communication technology and AI will affect the way we work?

There is a word called abduction. This means testing a hypothesis, which means thinking from a high level of abstraction. AI is completely incapable of addressing this area. AI is good at processing huge amounts of data, such as finding the optimal solution 100,000 times a day within a limited range. However, they completely lose their ability to respond to things they have no experience with.

Even in situations with which we have no experience, humans formulate a hypothesis, think, put it into practice, and make judgments. This is a key part of how humans work, and it is thought that abduction will become the area where humans play an active role. There are five areas that require abduction: creativity, management, hospitality, innovation, and expertise.

Speaking of GPT-3, it is possible to write articles that are easy to find on search engines, but it is still difficult to create novels, poems, and other texts that appeal to people's emotions. Even in specialized fields such as NDA (non-disclosure agreements), is it possible to judge risk management based on the text? Is it possible to predict from the document what kind of impact will be had when a new law is enacted? cannot be done by AI.

Highly abstract tasks like these require deep human involvement. There is an argument that AI will take away people's jobs, but on the other hand, it means that some dangerous and stressful jobs can be replaced by AI. I believe that if you focus on working energetically, you will be freed from the shackles of work that you tend to think is "useful." If you think about it this way, perhaps the perspective on human resource education will change in the future.

“Update Your Dream” Update the dreams you want to achieve

-What kind of mindset do you think is important when it comes to working styles in the future?

"Update Your Dream". In other words, renew the dreams you want to achieve. There are limits to what you can do right now. However, after a year, you should have grown and expanded your horizons. The environment is constantly changing, so my approach is to update what I want to do. Looking back, when I was a student, I never even imagined a future where 5G would enable constant connectivity. I think we are moving in a good direction, but on the other hand, there are also problems with the global environment.

As AI develops and communications evolve, I think we can see a future where only what is truly necessary is created. Balancing overall optimization and individual happiness is something that only humans can do, and I think it is a challenge that we must face. Life has meaning. It is very important to have a positive attitude and not be afraid of change, but rather enjoy it.

Cinnamon AI President and CEO Mirai Hirano Serial entrepreneur. Completed graduate school at the University of Tokyo. Engaged in research on recommendation engines, complex networks, clustering, etc. It was twice selected for the IPA Unexplored Software Creation Project in 2005 and 2006. Founded Naked Technology while still in school. We develop and operate middleware that allows you to develop applications on IOS/ANDROID/flip phones. In 2011, the company was sold to Mixi. Received various domestic and international awards such as ST.GALLEN SYMPOSIUM LEADERS OF TOMORROW, FORBES JAPAN “Entrepreneur Ranking 2020” BEST10, Woman of the Year 2019 Innovative Entrepreneur Award, VEUVE CLICQUOT BUSINESS WOMAN AWARD 2019 NEW GENERATION AWARD . He has also given a keynote speech at AWS SUMMIT 2019, Milken Institute Japan Symposium, 45th Japan-ASEAN Management Conference, Bloomberg THE YEAR AHEAD Summit 2019, etc. Since 2020, he has been appointed as a member of the Cabinet Secretariat IT Strategy Office and a special member of the Cabinet Office Tax Investigation Committee. From 2021, he will serve as an expert member of the Cabinet Office's Economic and Fiscal Policy Council and an expert member of the Council for the Realization of New Capitalism. University of Tokyo Faculty of Engineering Advisory Board. In her private life, she is a mother of two children.

At Cinnamon AI, we help you connect AI to your competitive strategy through consulting, workshops, and solutions. We would appreciate it if you could feel free to contact us.

Click here to contact us => Inquiry form