Summary of the work

We developed TUNA SCOPE, the world's first AI capable of discerning tuna quality with the eye of a skilled Japanese artisan. Using the peculiarities of deep learning, the AI was able to establish its own methodology for making judgments that had been considered 'tacit knowledge' based on human intuition and experience, becoming the world's first AI to successfully acquire a professional skill. The resulting AI is able to match the quality judgments of skilled artisans in over 90 percent of cases, and can be deployed round-the-clock, simultaneously, anywhere in the world. In 2020, due to the impact of COVID-19, many restaurants and supermarket chains that purchase tuna from overseas were facing a supply crisis of raw tuna. Kura Sushi is among Japan’s largest sellers of tuna by volume. To procure stock, the sushi chain’s skilled artisans visited various regions in Japan and abroad to directly evaluate the quality of tuna for purchase, using judgment cultivated through years of experience. However, travel restrictions imposed during the pandemic made it impossible for artisans to evaluate and purchase on-site as they had before. To ensure that it could continue delivering delicious tuna to consumers amid these supply threats, Kura Sushi adopted a technology that we had developed. We took on the challenge of ‘AI-driven purchasing’, a new initiative that overturned conventions in the fishing industry. Working with Kura Sushi, we sent the TUNA SCOPE data to Dalian, China, where in a world-first the AI performed remote purchasing in place of skilled artisans. Having mastered the specialized skill, the AI’s judgment succeeded in procuring several hundred tons of tuna far faster than previously possible, without requiring staff to travel during the pandemic. The tuna that AI judged to be the most delicious was newly commercialized as "AI TUNA," sold at Kura-Sushi restaurants nationwide, and a launch campaign including TV-commercials was launched. TUNA SCOPE has been adopted as a promotion program supported by the government of Japan, and continued until 2021. In 2021, AI Tuna was launched in two cities in China, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, and continues to expand its global reach. Quality certification by TUNA SCOPE has been introduced to several major supermarket chains in Japan.