Recently, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been increasingly utilized. Whether you’re scrolling through videos, citing sources in your writing, plagiarizing an entire essay, or simply creating a funny image, you’re bound to encounter or even use AI in some form throughout your day.
On August 26, 2025, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government made an interesting decision. An AI-generated video was released with the intention of demonstrating what to do in the case of Mount Fuji erupting. Many major news stations reported on it, all equally shocked by the release of the video, which followed guidelines released in March of this year. Fuji has not erupted in over 300 years; the most recent eruption occurred in December 1707. It lasted multiple weeks and extended into the New Year. Despite its dormancy since, Fuji is still classified by geologists as active; they conclude an eruption could happen at any time.
If another eruption were to occur today, it would do much more damage than its 300-year-old counterpart. Ash would travel many kilometers, blanketing what is now Tokyo, the country’s capital and most populous city. It would slow down transport, contaminate water supply, and make breathing difficult and, in some cases, even dangerous. After erupting, the ash would take just two hours to reach Tokyo.
Given the potential severity of such an incident, Tokyo authorities seemingly used artificial intelligence to gain public awareness of the situation by any means necessary. It is speculated that Japan utilized AI to emulate the trend of short-form videos, also AI-generated, that imitate what it would have been like to live through a natural disaster before modern technology was invented. Take the volcano eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Pompeii as an example. Those videos were generated for entertainment purposes, whereas Tokyo is trying to utilize it to prepare its citizens for a life-threatening devastation. It is evident that, if such a disastrous incident is to occur, Tokyo wants to be ready by any means.
