Daikin sees AI as essential to its future business model, in which it plans to offer subscription services with AI-powered air conditioners.
OSAKA - There's a sense of panic within Japan Inc and the government - the world's No. 3 economy doesn't have enough experts in artificial intelligence and it's time to do something about it.
But Daikin Industries Ltd, the world's biggest maker of air conditioners with a market value of $37 billion, is taking a more unusual route to AI expertise. "We have a sense of crisis as we don't have experts well-versed in information technology when AI and data analysis are in great demand," Yuji Yoneda, executive officer at Daikin's Technology and Innovation Center, told Reuters.
New hires get the most training with a two-year program. The first crop of 100 graduates hired last year took classes given by Osaka University professors for about six months, with the rest of their first year spent on data analysis and group work. This year, they have been assigned to various departments for on-the-job AI training.By comparison, Sony offers its engineers 290 courses, including AI-courses, that range from a few hours to several days.
Combined Japanese government and corporate investment in information and communication technology was 16.3 trillion yen in 2017, up 12% from 1994, Japanese government data showed. By contrast, U.S. investment in the sector more than tripled over the same period to $655 billion. "In Japan, IT jobs have long been thought of as labor-intensive with low pay and late-night work. If they are as well-paid and rewarding as in the United States and China, information science would become more popular among students," he said.This year, Sony began to offer starting salaries of up to 7.3 million yen for postgraduates proficient in areas such as AI, compared with its standard starting salary of 6 million yen.
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