AI Algorithm Transparently Disclosed... Kakao Publishes ‘Tech Ethics’

Kakao announced on the 7th that it has published the first issue of the magazine ‘Tech Ethics,’ which introduces the artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and policies of the Kakao community. The purpose is to fulfill social responsibility by explaining in detail and transparently how various technologies are applied to services as a digital company to users and our society.

Tech Ethics is published monthly by the ‘Kakao Community Technology Ethics Committee,’ a technology ethics discussion body established in July last year, selecting a new topic each month. The magazine will be released monthly on Kakao’s official website and Kakao Policy Industry Research’s Brunch Story.

The first issue of Tech Ethics introduces Kakao’s technologies and policies embedded in the arrangement of ‘Daum News.’ Kakao explained that to provide users with diverse and timely news articles, it applied the country’s first real-time user-responsive recommendation algorithm to its news service in June 2015. Through this, it achieved an increase in the diversity and exposure volume of news delivered to users.

Kakao introduced that after considering the limitations of recommendation algorithms and better directions, it implemented a revamp of Daum News in August last year with a new editing and arrangement method. It provided media companies with editorial rights over major news and gave users the choice of three types of arrangements: latest order, personalized order, and deep reading order. The magazine also detailed the purpose of the revamp and the operating principles of the applied algorithms.

The magazine analyzed that the revamp resulted in increased news diversity. As evidence, it presented the rise of the ‘diversity index,’ which measures the diversity of media companies, issues, and categories exposed to users. The average diversity index rose by about 73%, from 0.048 before the revamp to 0.083 after, which was interpreted as users consuming news from more diverse media companies and various issues. Kakao also disclosed these results last month on the 18th in the ‘Diversity Report.’

Im Kwang-wook, head of the Media Business Office at Daum CIC, who oversees the news service, explained through the magazine that there were certain limitations to the diversity index and promised to regularly measure the diversity index and continue efforts to improve it.

Kim Dae-won, head of Kakao’s Human Rights and Technology Ethics Team and editor of Tech Ethics, said, “The Kakao community continues to innovate so that all technologies help users under the mission of ‘a better world created by technology and people.’ We will strive to make Kakao’s various technologies and policies easier and more transparent to understand for our society through the magazine ‘Tech Ethics.’”

Meanwhile, Kakao has been continuing efforts to fulfill its social responsibility as a digital company. In 2018, it announced the Algorithm Ethics Charter, becoming the first domestic company to establish an algorithm ethics code. It also established the ‘Technology Ethics Committee,’ the first among domestic companies. The purpose is to continuously examine technology ethics across the community and research ways to develop together with society.