NGK INSULATORS, LTD. (hereinafter “NGK”) based in Nagoya, Japan, and Stockmark Inc. (hereinafter “Stockmark”) based in Minato-ku, Tokyo, have been carrying out demonstration tests using original artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the precision and speed of searches for new applications for NGK’s products and technologies and these tests have successfully identified promising new business proposals. By connecting this original AI with the various assets held by NGK, the initiative is advancing development of new products and technologies that match market needs.
The AI developed by Stockmark is a proprietary Japanese Large Language Model (hereinafter “LLM”)* trained with an enormous volume of public information, including the latest patents and research papers, social issues and news. NGK and Stockmark are using NGK’s assets (seeds), such as information on its products and technologies, including company secrets, as learning materials for this LLM to build an original AI that can efficiently generate proposals for new business areas (needs). During the demonstration tests, the AI generated over 100 new, actionable proposals and out of these, more than 10 proposals were ultimately identified as applications that could become promising new businesses, including proposals related to renewable energy, water treatment, and sensing technologies. Going forward, NGK plans to connect this original AI with various assets it possesses, including customer information, to further refine its ability to search for new applications that directly reflect the needs of customers and the markets.
When using AI for application searches, there is a risk of a phenomenon in which the AI generates hallucinations derived from information that is not based in fact. In regard to the original AI in development, NGK worked to improve the learning materials and text data fed to the LLM to ensure it gained an appropriate understanding of the information on NGK’s products and technologies. This resulted in the accurate identification of applications without any hallucinations. The use of AI to analyze large volumes of text data means a project is no longer dependent on the skill and experience of the personnel assigned to it and also greatly reduces the amount of time and labor required compared to previous methods, enabling NGK to efficiently consider uncultivated markets in which it can leverage its strengths.
Under the NGK Group Vision: Road to 2050, the NGK Group is advancing New Value 1000, which aims to generate at least 100.0 billion yen in net sales in new business by the milestone year of 2030, while converting the business structure of the Group to the carbon neutral and digital society fields. To achieve this vision, it is also implementing reforms in five areas, and it is working on a Group-wide basis to accelerate initiatives in one of these areas, the advancement of digital transformation (DX), which has been positioned as the driving force of our Group efforts. In the future, NGK will continue to advance DX while working to create new products and new businesses under themes that contribute to its growth.
