Meeting with Reporters After Inauguration
"We Can't Rely Solely on Foreign Solutions... Developing Our Own Models Is Essential"
"High-Quality Advanced Data May Be Purchased and Distributed by the Government"
"Doing Our Best to Restore the R&D Ecosystem"
Baek Kyun, the newly appointed Minister of Science and ICT, is talking with reporters on the 17th. Photo by Park Yujin
Baek Kyun, the newly appointed Minister of Science and ICT, stated on the 17th, "We must not develop foundation models that are only usable in Korea," adding, "We need to create them at a world-class level." He emphasized, "Although this may be a challenging task, the Ministry of Science and ICT will do its utmost to provide support."
On this day, after his inauguration ceremony at the Sejong Government Complex, Minister Baek met with reporters and said, "While we could use foreign solutions, it is necessary to apply our own foundation models in key areas." He also expressed his expectations for public-private partnership foundation model projects.
Regarding the scope of model utilization, he explained, "We plan to implement policies to promote open-sourcing so that the entire population and all institutions can use them," and added, "Not only large corporations but also many startups and academic institutions will participate in the form of consortia, and the results will be shared as open source."
On the issue of data, he noted, "It is true that there is a significant shortage of not only public data but also private data for current artificial intelligence (AI) training," and stated, "High-quality, advanced data is created by experts, and since companies may face difficulties in securing such data, the government needs to step in, purchase it, and promote its distribution."
He further added, "If the existing data acquisition system has remained at the level of basic knowledge processing, now we must properly process specialized data and utilize it for training," and said, "We plan to focus on this area."
Regarding the controversy over AI textbooks, he said, "There are various perspectives, and I have yet to fully review the situation," adding, "I will look into it further and provide my comments afterward."
On the direction of forming the National AI Committee, he stated, "I have also made recommendations for members," and added, "We will work closely with the Office of the Chief Secretary for AI to ensure that the committee can fulfill its role as the national AI control tower."
In response to questions about the research and development (R&D) budget, he said, "What is more important than AI itself is the industries and science and technology connected to AI," emphasizing, "If only AI develops and basic science does not, the necessary links will not be formed." He concluded, "We will do our best to revitalize the field of basic science and restore the R&D ecosystem."
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