Japan could fall prey to a ⁠new form of colonialism in the artificial intelligence (AI) era if it fails to keep pace with the technology’s rapid development, the country’s digital minister warned on Friday.“I hope many Japanese people understand that ​we need to press ahead with AI development, ‌or we’ll ‌end up becoming an ’AI colony’,” Hisashi Matsumoto said.Matsumoto raised the warning as he defended a bill to amend Japan’s personal data protection law to ⁠allow AI developers to train models with data such as medical ⁠and criminal records without the individuals’ consent. “The point of this change is that, with AI development ​moving so fast, Japan can’t ⁠afford to fall behind,” he told a press briefing. Some opposition parties have ⁠expressed concerns about the ​government-drafted bill, citing data breach risks.