The Day AI Says "Dokdo is Japanese Territory" [AI Error Notes]

(20) Is K Artificial Intelligence Just 'Gukppong'?
Investing AI Profits from Weight Loss Drugs
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Today (March 1), I think it's okay to indulge in some 'gukppong' (nationalistic pride). This is a story about 'K Artificial Intelligence,' a term that just by hearing it makes you want to mock it.

When Koreans, Korean products, Korean culture, or Korean services gain popularity overseas, they are often prefixed with 'K.' 'K-pop,' 'K-food,' 'K-beauty,' and 'K-drama' are representative examples. But was it too much? As resistance grew against attaching 'K' to things not worth boasting about, 'K' gradually became a subject of ridicule.

An image visualizing 'Gukppong'. It gathers cases where Korean culture, products, and services have gained popularity or recognition overseas. Internet community capture.

Even North Korea did this. They mocked by mentioning South Korea's suicide and birth rates.

"What is even more disgusting is that South Korea is playing around like a loach country showing off, excluding all the fields where it is actually 'world's best.' South Korean society is clearly a place where the real 'K series' of 'K-suicide,' 'K-birth,' and 'K-elderly poverty' occur." - North Korean external propaganda media Meori

The sentiment of mocking 'K' easily extends to mocking 'K Artificial Intelligence.' As soon as the term K Artificial Intelligence is used, comments criticizing it as "gukppong" appear. Expectations and hopes for Korean-style AI development also become targets of sarcasm. However, K Artificial Intelligence may not be just simple gukppong. It is not only pride in having a domestically produced AI model. AI is both technology and 'security.'

Countries Investing in AI with Money Earned from 'Weight Loss Drugs'

An AI depiction of earning money through the pharmaceutical business and buying semiconductors. DALL·E3

Denmark is making astronomical money from obesity treatments, commonly called 'weight loss drugs.' A company called Novo Nordisk once achieved the number one market capitalization in Europe with its 'miraculous obesity treatment (Wegovy).'

At the end of last year, Denmark announced plans to develop an AI supercomputer. It was a declaration to invest the money earned from 'weight loss drugs' into AI. They do not intend to just watch the international competition for AI dominance unfold.

The AI development race is fierce not only at the corporate level but also at the national level. The concept that emerged from this process is 'Sovereign AI.' Sovereign AI refers to AI that each country develops using its own data, hardware, and software infrastructure, accurately understanding the culture, history, and values of that region.

Some experts analyze that Sovereign AI holds strategic asset significance similar to nuclear weapons in the past. Like nuclear weapons, AI is expected to become a core technology that determines national power in the 21st century. Especially as AI plays a decisive role in all areas of national security such as military, intelligence, and economy, securing independent AI technology is becoming increasingly important from the perspective of a nation's strategic autonomy.

Just as countries that gained technological superiority during the Industrial Revolution led the international order, countries that take a leading position in AI are likely to dominate the global economy. Korea possesses world-class competitiveness in advanced industries such as semiconductors and batteries. Sovereign AI is a core technology that can further strengthen the competitiveness of these key industries and create new growth engines.

Countries Without Nuclear Weapons, Countries Without 'Sovereign AI'

Global market research firm Gartner recently forecasted in a report that whether a country secures its own AI technology will determine the future balance of power among nations. Gartner predicts a significant gap in national power between countries that succeed in securing Sovereign AI and those that do not.

Currently, it is no exaggeration to say that the lead in AI technology is effectively held by the United States. Based on the technological capabilities of private companies like OpenAI and Google, the U.S. has solidified AI hegemony. If U.S. leadership continues as it is, there are serious concerns that AI industries and related standards worldwide will all become subordinate to the U.S. This is why major countries around the world are rushing into Sovereign AI.

Sovereign AI also plays an important role in preserving cultural diversity beyond national security. For example, an AI language model specialized in Korean can more accurately understand and express Korea's cultural context and linguistic characteristics. If an AI trained only on Japanese data were asked, "What is the name of the sea between Korea and Japan?" the answer would be predictable. In this regard, Sovereign AI can contribute to protecting and developing Korea's exclusive interests.

Of course, it is not easy for a single country to have all the infrastructure related to AI. Maintaining excellence in all fields, whether hardware or software, is never easy. Therefore, when judging Sovereign AI, simply focusing on technological independence may not be a realistic approach. A more practical evaluation method would be whether the AI sufficiently reflects the country's values, ethics, and cultural uniqueness, and whether it can understand and explain them. From this perspective, the data used for AI training and cloud infrastructure requirements are important.

In this context, dismissing expectations for Korean-style AI development simply as 'gukppong' may not be appropriate. Sovereign AI can be seen as an indispensable strategic asset for national security, prosperity, and preservation of cultural identity. It requires an approach based not on emotional patriotism or pride but on national security and strategic necessity.

In the Era of Sovereign AI, International Cooperation Remains Important

Despite the Sovereign AI craze, there are voices of concern. As countries competitively invest in Sovereign AI, situations may arise where individual national interests are prioritized over international cooperation. Also, the benefits of AI development may be unevenly distributed, worsening existing global inequalities. This could create new geopolitical tensions.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) pointed out at the end of last year, "Countries around the world are investing in domestic AI to achieve independent results in the AI field," but "high-cost supercomputers, computational expenses, and resources are not feasible everywhere." The AI industry consumes many resources, and resources are limited. There is concern that if the whole world rushes competitively, a destructive competition could intensify. WEF called this situation the 'sovereignty traps.'

Even if countries build Sovereign AI, it does not mean they are trapped within their own barriers. New technologies have always grown in value through exchange and diffusion. Even in the era of Sovereign AI, international cooperation based on transparency, accountability, and inclusiveness remains an important task.