Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister Lee Joo-ho, also Minister of Education, said on the 20th, “Korea must continue to take bold challenges to leap forward as the top country in the world utilizing AI (artificial intelligence) well.”
The acting president noted this while attending the ‘AI Field Dialogue’ held at the Korea Fiscal Information Service that day.
The meeting was held to discuss ways to improve the quality of life for citizens using AI technology and to advance toward a sustainable society. Seventeen participants, including the acting president, Yim Jae-ho, vice chairman of the National AI Commission, private sector members, and field experts, took part.
The acting president said, “It is a critical time to solve the structural challenges our society faces, such as low birth rates and an aging population, as well as social imbalances, by utilizing AI,” and mentioned, “The government is currently using AI in various fields.”
He added, “In the education sector, we have promoted AI-based educational innovation by introducing AI digital textbooks to close the education gap and provide personalized education that fits the level and learning pace of individual students,” and said, “We have continuously innovated public and administrative services that incorporate AI technology in various fields such as disaster and safety response, and addressing welfare blind spots.”
The acting president also said, “In the future, AI will spread rapidly across our society,” and noted, “During this process, there will be vague fears about new technologies, and there will also be instances where they collide with existing laws or systems.”
He emphasized, “There is a need to go through a public discussion process with various stakeholders and to increase social consensus,” and added, “However, if we turn our backs on new technologies out of fear and discomfort, the losses we will have to bear could be much greater than anticipated.”