Developing AI for the Benefit of Humanity: Microsoft Research Asia Tokyo's Challenge

Presentation by Yasuyuki Matsushita, Director of Microsoft Research Asia Tokyo, at RIETI BBL Seminar on April 25, 2025. Established in November 2024, the research center focuses on Japan's socioeconomic challenges, advancing "AI development for the benefit of humanity." Tokyo was chosen for its concentration of talented people and universities, and culture of manufacturing and harmony. Core research is Embodied AI—AI with physical presence—aiming to solve social issues like labor shortages through new AI that learns from the real world. Developing robot foundation models enables natural language robot instruction. Japan's AI talent development remains challenging, with stagnant PhD graduates and delayed corporate utilization of doctoral talent. While 38.5% of US corporate-employed PhDs work in companies, Japan lags at 13.8%. Success in AI industry requires talent, computing resources, and data, with talent development particularly time-consuming. Recommendations include flexible undergraduate enrollment expansion, expanding opportunities for PhDs in companies, and promoting internships at leading AI companies.