Keio University is working with OpenAI to integrate artificial intelligence into its education system.

Keio University President Kohei Ito and OpenAI Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) Tuesday, making Keio the first Japanese university to form a strategic partnership with the producer of ChatGPT.

“We will develop an environment where students and researchers can proactively learn and utilize AI,” Ito said.

“AI literacy will become a fundamental skill across all disciplines — humanities, social sciences, medicine, business and engineering. Our goal is for every Keio student to understand and critically engage with AI in ways that support their creativity and judgment.”

As Keio University promotes its “AI Campus” vision, Ito said OpenAI will be a strong partner.

OpenAI and the university will focus on creating an environment where students will be able to better use AI, deepening research collaboration and establishing ethics and governance in relation to AI, Ito said.

Specific projects and the terms of the MOU weren’t mentioned at the news conference, but the immediate challenge Keio University wants to tackle is how AI can help researchers in humanities and the social sciences.

A number of researchers in those fields are exploring how to utilize AI in their studies. Depending on how it is used, AI may even provide suggestions that humans could not have imagined before, Ito said.

Kwon said OpenAI is pleased to work with Keio University, which has produced many leaders in business, politics and culture.

“For OpenAI, it is deeply meaningful to form a strategic partnership with the university that so clearly embodies innovation, responsibility and strong sense of public service,” he said.

“OpenAI’s mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all humanity. At the very heart of that mission is education.”

In April last year, Keio University announced an AI partnership with Carnegie Mellon University to develop cutting-edge AI systems. The partnership is backed by major tech firms, including SoftBank Group, Nvidia and Microsoft.

Ito also said Keio University has been encouraging students to learn about AI and use it, saying that the university has created a lab where students skilled in AI teach other students how to develop and utilize AI tools.

The university pays AI-skilled students for teaching others, and by doing this, a cycle is created where the instructed students eventually become the teachers themselves and teach other students.