On-site Visit to Korea New Deal, Confirming AI-Transformed Korea... "We Will Foster Talent to Enhance Advanced AI Capabilities"
[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jung-min] "We will enhance the capabilities of advanced artificial intelligence through talent development. So far, 12 AI graduate schools have been established, and we plan to increase the number of AI personnel to 100,000 through the Korean New Deal."
On the afternoon of the 25th, President Moon Jae-in visited KINTEX in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do to review the achievements and vision of the national AI strategy. President Moon emphasized, "Through the Data Dam project, a representative project of the Korean New Deal, we will link innovative measures by industry sectors such as autonomous vehicles, robots, smart factories, and smart farms, and further accelerate the utilization of data."
The event was a place to share the achievements and vision of one year since the Moon Jae-in administration's basic AI concept and national strategy establishment, and to encourage companies. It was the eighth field visit since President Moon set the Korean New Deal as the national strategic vision.
President Moon stated, "Even during the process of overcoming COVID-19, our AI demonstrated unprecedented capabilities. The AI ‘NUGU Care Call’ made calls twice a day to those under self-quarantine to detect confirmed cases early. AI technology was used in remote education, telecommuting, and discount strategies for small business customers, and the development period for COVID-19 diagnostic kits and treatments was drastically shortened."
President Moon encouraged corporate achievements and promised national-level support. He said, "‘KT’ has formed an ‘AI One Team’ by partnering with nine industry-academic-research institutions including ‘LG Uplus’ and ‘Hyundai Heavy Industries’. Through joint AI research and talent development, innovative achievements that transcend individual corporate fields, such as ‘hotel robots’, are expected."
President Moon evaluated, "‘Samsung Electronics’ is aiming for human-centered AI that protects humanity’s safety, beyond product innovation, such as disaster and infectious disease response. The future of ‘Kakao’, which is advancing as an AI specialized company, and ‘SK Telecom’, which is launching the nation’s first AI semiconductor for data centers, is also very bright."
Furthermore, President Moon pledged, "We will accelerate the speed of AI ‘technological innovation’. We will nurture the core product, AI semiconductors, as the second DRAM. Last October, we established the ‘AI Semiconductor Industry Development Strategy’ and will invest 1 trillion won by 2029. We will prepare an ‘AI Law and Regulation Improvement Roadmap’ by the end of the year to improve regulations and support corporate innovation."
Meanwhile, Minister Choi Ki-young of the Ministry of Science and ICT stated in the ‘One Year Achievements of the National AI Strategy’ report that the national AI strategy has been implemented at the government-wide level and will be continued as a digital New Deal achievement.
Major companies such as Naver, KT, Kakao, Samsung Electronics, and SK Telecom presented various innovative efforts, achievements, plans, and future visions they are pursuing in the AI field according to their corporate characteristics and strengths.
Naver unveiled world-class AI robot technology capable of learning precise force control skills such as peeling fruit by hand. They announced continuous efforts to increase the industrial utilization of data through cooperation with other companies.
KT introduced the ‘AI One Team’ formed with nine industry-academic-research institutions including Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, LG Uplus, and Hanyang University to compete with global AI companies, revealing collaborative research and development, social problem solving, talent development projects, and achievements.
Kakao Enterprise expressed its ambition to become a leading AI company through investments in AI and cloud sectors. They announced plans to lead innovation by spreading AI technology across various fields such as automobiles and work environments using their platform.
Samsung Electronics introduced major research areas including the advancement of AI-based next-generation communication and display technologies being researched at seven global AI research centers, as well as various personalized services. They stated they will develop ‘human-centered AI’ that provides new value and experiences to users through AI technology.
SK Telecom publicly unveiled the nation’s first commercial AI semiconductor product for data centers (servers). They also presented a vision to grow into a top-level AI semiconductor company and lead the realization of a world-class AI nation.
The Blue House explained, "This event was conducted under thorough quarantine measures including pre- and post-event disinfection, hand sanitization, and temperature checks in response to COVID-19."
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