Transcript

Hello and welcome to today’s news from TotemoTech on April 2nd, 2024. In today’s news, we have two significant stories to cover. First, a debate has sparked on social media regarding ‘LoRA,’ an AI technology that specializes in generating artwork in specific styles. Illustrators and AI enthusiasts have been discussing the implications of training AI models to mimic certain art styles and the related copyright concerns. We’ll hear from legal experts on this matter.

Next, let’s talk about the grand finale of the ‘Moving Gundam’ project in Yokohama’s Yamashita Pier. On March 31st, the life-sized Gundam, which has been captivating audiences, bid farewell. The final event was live-streamed, attracting over 64,000 viewers. We’ll delve into the engineers’ candid thoughts and the impact of this iconic project.

Moving on to other news, the Japan Policy Finance Corporation has expanded its support for startups by enhancing its funding program. The previously offered unsecured and guarantor-free loan program, known as the ‘New Startup Financing System,’ has been revised. The loan limit has been increased from 30 million yen to an impressive 72 million yen. This move aims to provide more financial assistance to startups.

In the world of manga, there has been a report regarding tax evasion allegations against Nekokurage, the artist responsible for the illustrations in the popular manga series ‘Yakuya no Hitorigoto.’ The artist admitted to neglecting tax filings and has already made full payment to rectify the situation.

Turning to the tech industry, NTT West Japan’s new president, Ryohta Kitamura, addressed the issue of a massive data breach involving approximately 9.28 million customer records. During a press conference, he emphasized the company’s commitment to rebuilding trust and strengthening internal information security measures.

In education news, there has been a controversy surrounding a large number of tablet devices malfunctioning in schools in Tokushima Prefecture. The company responsible for supplying the tablets, Shidenko, suggested that the storage methods in schools may be the cause of the problem. However, they have not found any evidence of product defects.

Lastly, the United States House of Representatives has banned the use of the AI-powered assistance feature called ‘Copilot’ developed by Microsoft. This decision comes amidst concerns about the potential risks and ethical implications of relying on AI-generated content for official tasks. We’ll explore the reasons behind this prohibition.

That’s all for today’s news. Stay tuned for more updates from TotemoTech. Visit JapanDailyNews.com for the news, yen exchange rates, and a daily Japanese proverb.

Keywords - japan, tech, news