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Global AI experts boycott KAIST over 'killer robots'
Hanwha Systems CEO Chang Si-kweon, fourth from left, and KAIST President Shin Sung-chul, fifth from left, applaud at the opening ceremony of the Research Center for the Convergence of National Defense and Artificial Intelligence in this Feb. 20 file photo. / Courtesy of Hanwha Systems
By Park Jae-hyuk
Despite controversy, KAIST vows to develop 'AI weapons'
By Park Jae-hyuk
The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) is facing a boycott from the world's most notable artificial intelligence (AI) researchers because of its project with Hanwha Systems to develop AI technologies to be applied to military weapons.
More than 50 researchers from the University of Cambridge, Cornell University, the University of California, Berkeley, and 52 other institutions have said they will stop all contact with KAIST.
However, the state-run university said Thursday it will continue its cooperation with the defense business unit of Hanwha Group and will not stop its ongoing research on defense technologies.
The two opened the Research Center for the Convergence of National Defense and Artificial Intelligence in February, announcing its participation in the global competition to develop autonomous arms in a press release.
Back then, Hanwha Systems CEO Chang Si-kweon specified the word, “weapon,” saying the company will collaborate with KAIST to provide its customers with innovative systems that combine AI technologies with existing “weapons systems.”
Hanwha Systems is the nation's leading provider of a complete solution with ground, naval, air command, control, communication, computer, and intelligence (C4I), guided weapons, electronic warfare and future combat systems, according to the company's website, although KAIST has been trying to introduce the defense product provider as a mere "IT firm" in its press release issued after the boycott.
KAIST also took down the news from its official website about the center's opening ceremony for unknown reasons.
In an interview with the weekly Times Higher Education, based in London, Prof. Toby Walsh of the University of New South Wales, the boycott's organizer, said KAIST President Shin Sung-chul's letter could not answer some of his questions.
Walsh told the U.K. based magazine that he had been advised that the center was working on four autonomous weapons projects, including a submarine.
The development of an AI algorithm for an unmanned submarine's navigation is included in the joint research center's four major tasks, along with an AI-based command system, an AI-based aviation training system and an AI-based object-tracking technique.
A KAIST spokesman said, “Walsh replied to Shin's letter, but he has yet to confirm whether he will stop the boycott.”
The KAIST president sent letters to the 50 signatories, saying, “KAIST does not have any intention to engage in the development of lethal autonomous weapons systems and killer robots.”
Walsh said he will consult with his co-signatories about the statement from KAIST, according to the Times Higher Education.
He also pointed out Hanwha Systems has been blacklisted for producing cluster munitions, which are prohibited under a United Nations convention, although Korea is not a signatory.
A Hanwha Systems spokesman has denied the professor's claim, saying the explosive weapon is produced by Hanwha Corporation, a holding company of the nation's eighth-largest conglomerate.
In addition to its research on AI weapons, KAIST has continued to try to enhance its role in national defense.
The university signed a memorandum of understanding with the Republic of Korea Army last month to establish advanced combat development systems.