AI Training Data Construction Project Officially Launched... 2.5 Trillion Won Invested Over 6 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] On the morning of the 29th, the Ministry of Science and ICT held a launch ceremony at Post Tower in Seoul to pledge the successful promotion of the core task of the Digital New Deal, the ‘Artificial Intelligence (AI) Learning Data Construction Project,’ along with a win-win agreement ceremony to improve the treatment of participating personnel.

The event was attended by Jang Seok-young, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, Moon Yong-sik, President of the National Information Society Agency (NIA), the project management institution, Choi Young-hae, Chairman of the Korea Information and Communication Technology Association (TTA), the quality control specialized institution, representatives from three main executing institutions, three crowdsourcing participating institutions, and three crowdworkers involved in data collection and processing.

The AI Learning Data Construction Project is a project to build and open large-scale learning data essential for AI service development. Starting with an additional budget of 292.5 billion KRW, a total of 2.5 trillion KRW will be invested over six years until 2025. As of the end of August, 584 companies and institutions were selected and have already begun constructing 150 types of data across 10 major fields.

Professor Shin Hyun-woo of Seoul National University Hospital, attending as a representative of the project executing institutions, introduced plans to build over 10,000 sleep quality test data sets to address sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, automate the previously manual sleep disorder diagnosis process, and develop services to improve sleep quality.

Additionally, a win-win agreement ceremony was held, where crowdsourcing participating institutions promised to actively strive for the improvement of treatment and growth support for crowdworkers who perform data collection and processing roles. This win-win agreement was signed among the Ministry of Science and ICT, the National Information Society Agency, the Korea Information and Communication Technology Association, 72 main executing institutions, 105 crowdsourcing participating institutions, and crowdworkers. The main contents include creating many jobs, improving crowdworker treatment, and providing educational training opportunities.

The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to ensure the faithful implementation of this win-win agreement by conducting performance evaluations later and promoting a culture of mutual cooperation through awards for excellent companies and institutions.

Jang Seok-young, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, “I hope today’s launch ceremony will be a starting point that leads the future of the AI era, overcomes the job crisis caused by COVID-19, and brings hope to the people.”