ED 'Consensus' for AI age
Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon speaks during a government-hosted forum on social and artifical intelligence technological innovations at the Peace & Park Convention Center in Yongsang, Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
Korea should deal with all aspects of AI-led economic, social growth
Artificial intelligence (AI)-led growth and transformation is inevitably part of the future. Korea is one of the leading movers in AI, with a distinctive optimism and state-backed initiatives that draw from the country’s past industrialization successes. The Lee Jae Myung administration’s goal of becoming a top AI powerhouse, pursuing three megaprojects that include building semiconductors and data center hubs, reflects its enthusiasm.
However, the warning messages coming from Nobel laureates, prominent economists and AI researchers arrive at an opportune time for us to realistically factor in the future peaks and valleys of Korea’s AI growth.
In a statement titled “We Must Act Now,” experts from across the world stressed AI’s ability to become “radically more powerful over the next 10 years.” They also pointed that this could drive an “unprecedented transformation of our economy” and emphasized that it could be more transformative than the Industrial Revolution but unfolding in a far shorter time frame. While they said this could deliver “opportunities, such as major gains in living standards,” they also warned of its risks, including large-scale job displacement.
The signatories to this global call to action also urged economists, policymakers and technology leaders to "act now to understand the economics of transformative AI and to build the incentives, guardrails, and institutions needed to steer AI in a direction that complements humans and benefits society.”
It is a notable message coming from a group that has expressed a wide range of views on AI growth, including University of Virginia professor Anton Korinek, Ajay Agrawal of the University of Toronto and Daron Acemoglu of MIT, as well as Nobel laureates such as Simon Johnson and Michael Spence.
Their message followed Pope Leo’s call for AI regulation, moral clarity and society-wide debate in his first encyclical, released in late May. Professor Acemoglu noted that the pope was ahead in his thinking in pointing out that “technology is never neutral, because it takes on the characteristics of those who devise, finance, regulate and use it.”
This set of moral and practical warnings about the changes driven by the AI “revolution” won’t dampen the enthusiasm for AI use, as people in general have shown great appreciation for the technological advancement and increased productivity AI can provide. However, the other side of AI growth is that it may replace human labor and widen inequalities.
In seeking to broaden discussions on AI, the Korean government hosted a two-day forum tackling social and AI technological innovations earlier this week. The forum was a good step for Korea and for companies who need to think ahead and prepare. In the AI era, Korea must also lead in social and technical innovations rather than following the same model as its industrial development.
Korea has also witnessed labor conflicts arising from the AI boom, including major disagreements over bonus payments at chip giant Samsung Electronics. Unionized workers at Hyundai Motors have also protested the adoption of Atlantis humanoid robots on factory floors. While large-scale job displacements have yet to become evident in Korea, young job seekers continue to see employment prospects decline. One suggestion during the forum was to use these “excessive profits” to create jobs for younger generations.
As Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon said, “We now need a new social contract that is befitting the new age of AI.”
It is high time that the government, society and the business sector collectively address the challenges of AI in employment, welfare and ethics, among others.
Korea’s most imminent task is resolving the social tension that now accompanies the developments being pursued by the nation as it seeks to become one of world’s AI powerhouses. Reduction of tensions should lead to social consensus and possibly help write a new “social contract.”