Kakao Games' Namgung Hoon on AI 'Iruda' Controversy: "Worried Regulation Will Stifle Innovation"

Namgung Hoon, CEO of Kakao Games

[Asia Economy Reporter Bu Aeri] Amid the temporary suspension of the AI chatbot 'Iruda' service, the principled stance expressed by Namgung Hoon, CEO of Kakao Games, on the 12th is drawing attention.

CEO Namgung stated on his Facebook the day before, "AI-related regulatory debates are beginning to surface," adding, "I am concerned that innovation might be stifled again by regulations."

Iruda is an AI with the personality of a 20-year-old female college student, launched by the startup Scatter Lab in December last year. Users can interact with Iruda as if chatting with a friend. Although Iruda gained popularity with up to 750,000 users, controversies arose over discriminatory remarks against sexual minorities and people with disabilities, as well as suspicions of personal information leakage, leading to the eventual temporary suspension of the service.

CEO Namgung explained, "Iruda is not an AI supercomputer created for educational purposes," adding, "It is just one of many AI characters that will be released endlessly in the future."

He continued, "If this character told stories disconnected from the current generation, that would be one thing, but it merely exposed the hatred and discrimination that clearly exist in the current generation," pointing out, "Since this AI was trained through the current generation, the problem lies in the hatred and discrimination held by the current generation."

Namgung said, "If anyone should reflect, it is not the AI but society itself that must reflect," emphasizing, "Among AI characters, it would be unacceptable for characters like teachers or counselors to give answers like Iruda, but Iruda is simply a character learned through conversations among teenagers and people in their twenties."

He added, "I believe we should channel the social interest in AI, which has arisen after a long time, in a positive direction," and said, "I worry that this industry, which is just beginning, and this character, which appears to be a very attractive start, might have its innovation stifled again by inappropriate regulations. I applaud the company that launched this innovative service."