Korea at pivotal moment in redesigning AI strategies

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An all-out war has already begun in the global artificial intelligence (AI) industry as the U.S. and other developed countries, which had initially focused more on fostering their respective AI ecosystem, vie to secure hegemonic control of the future-oriented industry, according to government officials and market experts.

The intensifying competition puts Korea under pressure to become more agile in designing its own AI strategies.

However, it remains uncertain which path Korea will take in this decisive global tussle.

Personal Information Protection Commission Chairman Ko Hak-soo told reporters on Oct. 12 that either AI strategies of the European Union (EU) and the U.S. can offer lessons for Korea.

“We should think seriously about how we can find the third way,” he said.

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Even before the advent of ChatGPT brought another AI boom last year, Korea announced national AI strategies in December 2019, under the previous Moon Jae-in administration. At that time, the government vowed to support the development of AI chips, investments in AI research and to carry out drastic regulatory reforms.

“Since the Canadian government announced the world’s first national AI strategies in March 2017, each country has vied to draw up national AI strategies,” said Oh Yeon-ju, a researcher at the National Information Society Agency (NIA). “Over 700 AI initiatives have been announced in 60 countries registered as OECD’s AI observatories, and among them, 171 are national-level initiatives.”

Under the presidency of Yoon Suk Yeol, Minister of Science and ICT Lee Jong-ho said in May that Korea will serve as a rule-setter that leads the global discussion regarding digital guidelines. The science ministry also came up with the Digital Bill of Rights in September, to maximize benefits from technologies and reduce side effects.

U.S. President Joe Biden walks across the stage to sign an executive order on artificial intelligence in the East Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., Oct. 30. Reuters-Yonhap

Strategies of AI powerhouses

In terms of leading the standardization of AI regulations, however, Korea has been outpaced by the EU, which passed drafts of the world’s first comprehensive AI laws in June.

“Under unfavorable circumstances, the EU came up with its own human-oriented AI policy vision, which is different from those of the U.S. and China,” Oh said. “Since 2020, the bloc has ramped up efforts to secure technological sovereignty, self-sufficiency, independence and autonomy.”

The EU measures are thought to show an intention to chase the front-runners, by curbing the rapid growth of the AI industry in the U.S. and China through strict regulations.

Anupam Chander, professor of law and technology at Georgetown University Law Center, said during a conference in Seoul that the Brussels effect could be seen in the key principle of international AI regulations. The effect is the process of unilateral regulatory globalization caused by EU, externalizing its laws outside its borders through market mechanisms.

True to the professor's expectations, the G7 leaders agreed on Oct. 30 to international guiding principles on AI and a voluntary Code of Conduct for AI developers. Korea and 27 other countries that participated in the AI Safety Summit in the U.K. also declared on Nov. 1 that AI should be designed, developed, deployed and used in a manner that is safe, in such a way as to be human-centric, trustworthy and responsible.

In contrast, the U.S. has imposed relatively eased regulations on the country’s AI industry, allowing tech giants to establish rules autonomously.

Although U.S. President Joe Biden issued an executive order on Oct. 30 for safe, secure and trustworthy AI, he did not attend the AI Safety Summit, sending Vice President Kamala Harris to the event instead. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who was among the event's participants, said that governments have got to start with "insight" before "oversight."

The world’s largest economy has also tried to cooperate with its allies, to curb the growth of the AI sectors in what it calls authoritarian nations, such as China and Russia.

“A National Security Commission on AI (NSC AI) report announced during the early phase of the Biden administration proved that AI is not only a technology, but also the country’s political, social and mental strategies,” the NIA researcher said. “In particular, the commission’s report defined competition for AI technologies as the fight between good and evil, by emphasizing that the AI era’s risks come from the malicious use of the technology by adversaries.”

Taking advantage of the U.S.-China rivalry, Japan has also strengthened AI cooperation with the U.S., aiming to revive its semiconductor industry.

In response, China has expanded its presence in the global AI industry through active participation in initiatives by international organizations for the responsible use of AI, although the world’s second-largest economy has faced global criticism for using AI to surveil citizens. China also sent Vice Science and Technology Minister Wu Zhaohui to the AI Safety Summit, saying that Beijing is ready to increase collaboration on AI safety to help build an international "governance framework."

"China has enhanced its AI governance, rising as another rule-setter after the EU," Oh said.

She added that Korea needs AI strategies considering the geopolitical developments, so that the country can maximize benefits amid fierce competition between the U.S., China and the EU.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, left, and British Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Michelle Donelan, center, listen to China's Vice Minister of Science and Technology Wu Zhaohui speak on the first day of the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park in the U.K., Nov. 1. Reuters-Yonhap

Different views on AI regulations

Ha Jung-woo, head of Naver Cloud AI Innovation Center, urged Korea to pursue the AI strategies of the U.S., rather than the EU.

“(The) EU, that carries out strict regulations lacks hyperscale AI and platforms, so its regulations are intended to avoid being subordinate to Silicon Valley’s technologies,” he told lawmakers during a recent parliamentary audit. “The U.S. invited the CEOs of Big Tech firms to discuss regulations. It aims to maximize the country’s AI competitiveness by setting the rules of the game.”

He mentioned the fact that former Google Chairman Eric Schmidt had led the NSC AI to give advice on the U.S. government’s AI strategies.

“We hope the government supports R&D and commercialization, regarding the private sector’s AI technologies,” Ha said.

However, the government has pushed ahead with AI regulations, including making visible watermarks on AI-generated content mandatory.

“Digital ministers of other countries are concerned a lot about AI-generated content,” the science minister said in a parliamentary audit. “We should distinguish AI-generated content by adding visible watermarks.”

Rep. Yoon Young-chan of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea questioned the government's moves to legislate AI regulations.

“Korea is left behind the U.S. in AI technologies, and hyperscale AI models have just been released,” the lawmaker said. “I don’t understand why Korea hastens legislations of AI regulations.”

In response, the science minister said the government will carefully listen to the opinions of companies.