At OpenAI, our mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. We believe that education is at the very heart of that mission, and that the true impact of AI will not come from technological progress alone, but rather the ability of students and researchers to use these tools safely, responsibly and creatively. While OpenAI excels at developing AI technology, we are not educators. We believe that working with educational institutions is essential to ensuring that young people will learn what they need to know about AI and develop the appropriate values to shape the future.

Given this reality, there are several reasons why OpenAI chose Keio University among the many options of Japanese institutions for this partnership. Keio is well regarded around the world, known for its long-standing leadership as an educational and research institution full of experts in science, medicine, social science, public policy, and ethics. Furthermore, it has a large student body and an active research community, which is a significant factor in its appeal to us as a partner institution.

Through this partnership, we aim to combine OpenAI’s technology with Keio’s educational and research capabilities to create an AI-forward campus. To that end, we have identified three major initiatives on which our collaboration will be based.

First, we will develop an environment where students and researchers across all disciplines, including the humanities, medicine, and engineering, can become proficient at using AI as a supporting tool that enhances their creativity and decision-making skills.

Second, we will pursue research collaboration in these fields to accelerate interdisciplinary innovation with a focus on real societal needs.

Third, we will work with OpenAI to build an AI deployment model that is both transparent and secure for our users, while also upholding ethical standards and governance. Our goal is to contribute to best practices for Japan and the world.

I would like to emphasize that this partnership is not about replacing people with machines, but rather about equipping our community with powerful tools that reaffirm their humanity with empathy and responsibility.

President Itoh’s vision of creating an “AI-Native University (AI Campus Vision)” within three years is highly compelling. It aligns well with OpenAI’s perspective on the benefits of AI technology.

One reason for our partnership is Keio’s advanced medical research. We believe that AI technology will have a profound impact on the fields of medicine and life sciences.

Great strides have been taken in AI-driven scientific reasoning. These AI models can process vast amounts of information to generate new insights that could lead to better health , longer lifespans, and an improved quality of life. OpenAI has high expectations for the combination of Keio’s expertise and OpenAI’s model capabilities in this field.

AI will also bring about significant changes in education. I fundamentally believe that the era of unilateral teacher-centered learning is over. I feel we are returning to the days of Keio’s founder, Yukichi Fukuzawa, when teachers and students engaged in deep discussions and learned from each other as equals. AI will serve as a platform for this type of interaction.

It is very important for people to foster curiosity at a young age, not using AI for pre-determined use-cases, but as a tool to explore and sculpt an environment where they can learn of their own volition.

We’re looking into how researchers can harness the full potential of AI, particularly in the social sciences and humanities. By working with OpenAI, we will explore ways to accelerate research in these fields, resulting in new discoveries and policy recommendations.

Furthermore, for the study of literary and other fields, AI can generate suggestions that connect diverse and seemingly unrelated topics in ways that surpass human imagination. Such new discoveries would be fantastic.

On the other hand, partnering with universities will also benefit OpenAI. It is crucial to test AI in a university setting before implementing it in broader society, meaning that the feedback from this testing will be invaluable. This will contribute to the research required in adapting the English-based ChatGPT for the Japanese market, particularly with regard to multilingual support for Japanese.

While our primary focus is on education, we will also combine OpenAI’s technology with Keio’s research strengths. Our goal is to empower students and researchers to change the world.

For instance, in 2019, Keio established the AI and Advanced Programming Consortium (AIC) and opened a large-scale lounge on Hiyoshi Campus dedicated to student-driven and focused learning. It is a space where students with strong skills in AI teach other students how to use and develop tools, and are even reimbursed for their efforts. Students take the lead in creating systems such as “AI Yukichi Fukuzawa.” The program covers all levels, from beginner to advanced, creating a cycle in which faculty also learn AI from students.

Thus, curiosity is the most important element in AI utilization. Students are discouraged from merely using AI as a tool and instead prompted to engage their curiosity to ask questions that yield a variety of answers. For educational institutions, what matters most is fostering that curiosity and aspiration while creating an environment where people can elevate one another.

Through my discussions with President Itoh, I feel that OpenAI can support Keio’s AI Campus Vision* in multiple ways.

One is through education and human capital development. We will help create a learning environment in which students actively participate in shaping the future instead of merely using AI.

For instance, ChatGPT’s Study Mode facilitates learning through discussion, much like a teacher or a mentor might, gradually fostering the user’s ability to think rather than providing answers.

In fact, professors around the world are adapting AI tools for their teaching methods, finding ways of assessing the learning process itself. For instance, some teachers have students submit the prompts they gave to the AI ​​and the process by which they arrived at their answers rather than seeing if the answers themselves were correct.

This collaboration is intentionally designed as a flexible and forward-looking framework, and we will establish points of contact between OpenAI and Keio to maintain an ongoing dialogue. This is a long-term relationship, and we will explore collaboration opportunities in various fields of education and research.

As OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said, the best future we can have with AI is one in which all people are empowered to do more than they could before. With access to this “intelligence,” we can learn anything, and apply that knowledge to anything. The important thing is not the knowledge itself, but acquiring the ability to apply it according to your will, creativity, spirit, and relationships with others. We dream of a world where AI technology enables every single person to achieve this, impact the world, and feel capable of pursuing their goals.

In an era when people often live to a century, guaranteeing long and happy lives while simultaneously ensuring global peace has become a major challenge. Simply making good use of AI for economic development will not be enough to sustain us through this marathon.

We should focus our attention on what AI can do for people, its capacity to empower individuals on their own journeys while also working as a positive force for society. I believe that AI can be leveraged humanely, and when implemented properly, with the goal of helping people live fulfilling lives, we can steer its integration into society in the right direction.

There will always be bad faith actors who seek to use technology for nefarious purposes. The best course of action we can take as a society is to maintain a human-centric approach, reign in these technologies, and use them to make our world, both abroad and here in Japan, more sustainable.

In today’s world, countries are competing fiercely for strategic success in AI. However, long-term strategic advantages in the future come from new discoveries made through scientific research. I believe that collaboration between OpenAI and leading research institutions, such as Keio University, is one way Japan can seize this opportunity.

Some say that Japan lags behind other countries in adopting AI, but I believe those barriers are now disappearing. While it is true that Japan has been thoughtful about adopting new technologies and has taken time to build relationships of trust, I believe this approach aligns with Japanese cultural values. Over the past six months, corporate adoption of AI in Japan has accelerated, and I would no longer say that Japan is “behind.”

In Japan, more entities are seeking out structural education on AI implementation. OpenAI provides corporate training and certification programs for this purpose. We are also focusing our efforts on teaching basic AI skills and how to apply them to specific business tasks.

I strongly urge the students of today, those who will go on to lead in the AI ​​era, to hold on to their curiosity. Rather than learning solely to prepare for exams, I hope they will strive to live a life in which they can apply their curiosity and interests to their work. AI can be a tool to stimulate curiosity, a trait that has never been more essential than it is now.

Indeed, this is an exciting time for students. With the world’s knowledge, insights, and advanced intelligent technologies at their fingertips, there is almost nothing they cannot learn today. I wish to encourage all students to use AI as a tool to actively pursue learning in the fields that were previously difficult to explore, not just to look for answers. AI technology has features that can help you ask better questions, engage in more meaningful dialogue, and process information in ways that are easier to understand. You don’t have to conform to a specific learning style. You can interact with these technologies in a way that best suits you. Students have never been better poised to learn.