The Ministry of Science and ICT announced that it participated in the ministerial session held at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024, the world’s largest mobile exhibition in Barcelona, Spain, on Feb. 27. During the event, it introduced the South Korean government’s policies regarding the safe utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) as well as the “Bill of Digital Rights,” which is a digital norm supporting these policies.
Ryu Je-myung, head of the network policy department at the Ministry of Science and ICT, and Ann Neuberger, the U.S. deputy national security adviser, attended the ministerial session to hold talks on AI ethics and safety. The proceedings were conducted by Carme Artigas, co-chair of the U.N. High-Level Advisory Organization for Artificial Intelligence, who served as the Minister of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence of the Spanish government.
Director Ryu stated regarding how the South Korean government is establishing AI governance, by saying, “Addressing a future society where humans and AI coexist is a common challenge that we all, regardless of businesses, citizens, or governments, must solve together.” He added, “The Ministry of Science and ICT is establishing the direction of national AI investment through regular operation of top-level strategic AI-focused talks and AI semiconductor top-level strategic talks involving both public and private sectors.”
Regarding the Bill of Digital Rights, Director Ryu mentioned, “The South Korean government plans to foster discourse on various issues such as copyright issues in AI development and utilization processes, accountability issues of AI, and rights not to be connected, to establish substantive norms and orders based on the Bill of Digital Rights. Additionally, we aim to strengthen global solidarity and cooperation.”
The question about what measures are being taken by the governments of both South Korea and the United States to promote AI technological innovation while ensuring safety and security continued. Director Ryu remarked, “With the accelerated disruptive innovation brought about by the emergence of generative AI such as ChatGPT, there is a growing demand for regulations to ensure safety and security.” He added, “I believe that regulations on AI should not hinder the driving force of innovation, but rather there needs to be extensive and thorough discussions on the regulatory approach.”
Director Ryu emphasized, “Regulation on AI should be agile but not hasty. In its recently proposed AI law, the South Korean government has adopted an approach closer to voluntary regulation by the private sector rather than detailed regulation, containing only the necessary minimum regulations.”