{
  "id": 4585398,
  "title": "When Japan Tried To Create Artificial Intelligence in the 1980s",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/when-japan-tried-to-create-artificial-intelligence-in-the-1980s",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-08-31T06:32:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Tokyo Weekender",
    "slug": "tokyo-weekender",
    "url": "https://www.tokyoweekender.com/entertainment/tech-trends/japan-fifth-generation-computer-project-ai/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the 1980s, Japan attempted to pioneer artificial intelligence with the Fifth Generation Computing Project (FGCS). This ambitious endeavor aimed to create a machine that could infer meaning from incomplete instructions, learn from a vast database of knowledge, and communicate with humans using natural language. The project, which spanned a decade, was backed by the Japanese government due to its desire to break IBM's global dominance in computer technology. However, the investment of about ¥57 billion (around $320 million USD) never exceeded 1% of Japan's electronics industry's annual R&D expenditure.\n\nDespite its lofty goals, the FGCS failed to deliver on its promise of true artificial intelligence. The project's unconventional approach of hiring young PhD graduates through private partner companies and then transferring them to the Institute for New Generation Computer Technology hampered the development process. Nonetheless, the FGCS project did yield significant results. It produced 382 patents, 2,371 technical reports, and released 100 software packages for free on the internet. More importantly, the project advanced parallel processing, a crucial component of modern computing that allows systems to process vast amounts of data simultaneously. This breakthrough has had a profound impact on various technologies, including search engines, streaming platforms, smartphones, graphics processing units (GPUs), and even modern artificial intelligence.",
  "summary": "The idea of “artificial intelligence” used to mean a planet-sized computer asking what it means to be conscious. It meant immortal machine civilizations orbiting dead stars. It meant robots who had outlived humanity and spent 10,000 years composing poetry about their creators. Now, though, it means a more elaborate autocomplete that sometimes insists there are […] The post When Japan Tried To…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "BIS Central Bank Speeches",
        "title": "Opening remarks on Sound Practices for Artificial Intelligence",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/10/opening-remarks-on-sound-practices-for-artificial-intelligence",
        "published": "2026-08-10T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Motley Fool",
        "title": "C3.ai vs. Oracle: Which Artificial Intelligence Stock Is a Better Investment in 2026?",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/c3-ai-vs-oracle-which-artificial-intelligence-stock-is-a-better",
        "published": "2026-08-27T23:36:59.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Nasdaq Markets",
        "title": "C3.ai vs. Oracle: Which Artificial Intelligence Stock Is a Better Investment in 2026?",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/c3-ai-vs-oracle-which-artificial-intelligence-stock-is-a-better-3851789",
        "published": "2026-08-27T23:56:59.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Hindu",
        "title": "‘Artificial Intelligence will not take jobs away directly’",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/artificial-intelligence-will-not-take-jobs-away-directly",
        "published": "2026-08-28T13:52:35.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}