NC Leading ESG Management in the Gaming Industry, Focusing on 'AI Ethics'

Leading Leadership and Ethics Improvement in the AI Era
Through Dialogues with World-Renowned Scholars
Yoon Song-yi CSO Also Presents New Perspectives

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] NCSoft, the first in the gaming industry to establish an ‘ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Management Committee,’ is accelerating its ESG management by focusing on leadership and ethics improvement in the AI era.

According to NCSoft on the 23rd, since the establishment of the ESG Management Committee in March, it has been strengthening ESG management activities with a focus on ▲consideration for the Future generation ▲support for the Underprivileged ▲protection of the Ecosystem ▲leadership and ethics in the AI era.

In particular, over the past three months, NCSoft has concentrated on building consensus to secure AI ethics. NCSoft is currently releasing the ‘AI Framework’ series, prepared to improve leadership and ethics in the AI era, through its official YouTube channel and blog. This series is a year-round project for leadership and ethics in the AI era, one of the core areas of ESG management.

Yoon Song-yi, CSO (Chief Strategy Officer) and chairperson of the NCSoft ESG Management Committee, presents new perspectives and directions on AI technology through discussions with world-renowned scholars from Harvard University, Stanford University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Professor Fei-Fei Li of Stanford University, who devised ‘ImageNet,’ which changed the history of deep learning, argued in the discussion that "AI technology should be viewed not only from an engineering approach but also from new perspectives such as ethics, education, and philosophy," sharing thoughts on the necessity of multidisciplinary research and the direction of AI technology development for humanity.

Professor Rob Reich, a political science professor and head of the Stanford Center for Social Ethics, stated in the discussion, "From the moment we learn the basics of algorithm models, we must confront questions about algorithmic bias and fairness. It is no longer acceptable to say, ‘If you are interested in tech ethics, take philosophy classes.’ Ethics will be included as a core course in computer engineering," he predicted.

The discussions with these scholars were led by CSO Yoon. He has shown great interest in AI technology and ethics, publishing a column titled ‘Ethics in the AI Era’ on the NCSoft blog in November 2019. In January last year, he attended the ‘Artificial Intimacy’ forum hosted by the Aspen Institute in the U.S., warning against artificially designed intimacy between humans and AI and advocating for policy guidelines in our society.

NCSoft plans to continue various support efforts so that future generations can develop and utilize technology based on proper values. Since last year, the NC Cultural Foundation has been sponsoring the development of AI ethics curricula led by MIT and Stanford University. This year, support will expand to include Harvard University. Domestically, NCSoft has been operating the NC Fellowship, an AI talent development program, since 2018.

NCSoft also continues efforts to protect the Earth, which will be the foundation for future generations. Through collaboration with the nonprofit international environmental organization ‘ProtectedSeas,’ NCSoft supports the accurate mapping of Korea’s Marine Protected Areas (MPA). The new NCSoft Global R&D Innovation Center is also being constructed with the goal of achieving the highest level of eco-friendly certification. NCSoft is considering publishing an ESG management report as a result of these activities.