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Special Feature 
Contributions to Society

Helping More People around the World Connect
Seamlessly with ICT in Their Daily Lives

ICT has been advancing, especially for the Internet of Things (IoT).
We are taking on the challenge of moving society forward to one where people around the world can effortlessly benefit from ICT through reliable services.

Leveraging the power of ICT in Japan and then the world
We are taking innovative steps to realize a more convenient and secure society.

Our Approach

New ICT is being created every day, and the paradigm of economic activity is constantly evolving. As a leading global ICT company, the NTT Communications Group, in addition to naturally creating highly dependable, high-quality communications infrastructure, focuses on helping solve social issues by providing society and its customers with cutting-edge technologies while dealing with its day-to-day operations.

Moreover, we are constantly reassessing our contributions to society through ICT. By taking a multi-faceted approach in our core initiatives, we aim to help create a better future while prospering in unison with various communities throughout society.

Our Ambition

A society where everyone is connected through ICT

> A society unrestricted by time, distance or language

> A society with always secure and fast networks

Focus SDGs

Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning Goal 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation Goal 11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Creation of a Convenient, Sustainable Society through Interactive AI Service Provision

Examining Possibilities for AI in Solving Japan’s Social Issues Thinking behind COTOHA

Today, as Japan faces the problems of a declining birthrate and an aging society, companies are feeling a sense of crisis in securing workers in the prime of their lives. Not only Japan but also other advanced nations are promoting initiatives to reform their industrial structures and in particular to bring about a shift from economic activity through manpower to high value-added work to realize the sustainable development of the economy. Under such circumstances, to leave the huge amounts of analysis work and repetitive, routine tasks to systems and machines, attention is focusing on the possibilities that AI offers.

For some time, we had been emphasizing management that improves social infrastructure through innovation and, focusing on AI technologies as one aspect, conducting research based on NTT Group collaboration. As a result, we jointly developed AI COTOHA. We launched AI services to conduct business processes by interacting in place of people in 2016.

Understanding Conversations in Detail, Realizing Natural Communication Adoption Begins in Various Industries

To bring about natural communication, AI needs to understand the meaning of the sentence correctly in addition to the language itself. In order to make this possible, we realize advanced communication with people based on the language analysis technology cultivated by Group companies, such as NTT laboratories. In the case of SMBC Nikko Securities, AI provides guidance on setting up a new account and ways to apply for initial public offerings (IPOs).

In the case of the COTOHA Series COTOHA Chat & FAQ, which assists customers in obtaining answers to inquiries themselves, AI achieved a reduction of 63% in manned chat operations while fielding inquiries at about four times the pre-installation rate at OCN Mobile ONE’s customer contact (Web) portal.

Enabling dialogue with natural communication, the COTOHA Series is of course now beginning to be adopted within the NTT Group as well as in a wide range of industries, such as the financial services and manufacturing industries and IT companies.

*COTOHA is equipped with NTT Group’s AI-related corevo technology, including advanced Japanese processing technology from NTT Media Intelligence Laboratories.

My Challenge

Future of Working in Conjunction
with Voice Recognition, in Greater Detail

Despite the exceptionally high degree of difficulty involved in realizing natural communication via AI, an important element is to move to a level that supplements the social problem of human resources shortages.

Committed to this natural communication, we will continue to make constant improvements to COTOHA.

AI Promotion Office, Application & Content Director Takahiro Ogawa

Support services that respond to customers—24 hours a day, 365 days a year—via LINE or the Web without them having to wait, have begun to be realized with the COTOHA Series. This will also remedy a situation that, even if we want to, is becoming difficult to deal with due to the lack of personnel and lead to improvements in customer satisfaction.

Looking into the store customer contact, reception, interpreting and even telephone operator roles, in the years to come I would like to expand the operational scenarios of the COTOHA Series, for example with robots, so that we reach the point where they are accepted as an important member of staff for customers.

AI Promotion Office, Application & Content
Director Takahiro Ogawa

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