Japan City to Develop AI Service for Preventing Dementia

The east Japan city of Yokosuka announces plans to develop a dementia prevention service using conversational generative artificial intelligence (AI). With cooperation from industry, academia, and government sectors, the city aims to address the aging population in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, through the initiative.

Further, a trial test will be conducted from October 2024 to March 2025 to confirm the efficacy of the service. Once confirmed, the service is expected to be fully implemented as a public service.

Due to the lack of research on using generative AI to prevent dementia, the city plans to collaborate with academic institutions to validate the medical effects.

In the trials, elderly cooperative participants will access the system via smartphones or tablet devices to engage in conversation with the AI. Notably, the generative AI will be trained on news from the Showa era (1926–1989) to encourage elderly users to talk about what they remember from the past.

At a press conference, Yokosuka Mayor Katsuaki Kamiji stated, "Communication plays a crucial role in preventing dementia, but some elderly individuals don't have people to talk to. We will address this issue with the help of the latest technology."