Gwangju City Accelerates Efforts to Establish Artificial Intelligence Research Institute

Contract Signed for Research Service with Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City (Mayor Lee Yong-seop) is accelerating efforts to establish an artificial intelligence research institute.

On the 22nd, Gwangju announced that it signed a research service contract with Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) to establish a research institute for creating an AI hub city and held a kickoff meeting.

This research service will be conducted to review the feasibility and establish plans for setting up an AI research institute (tentatively named Data Industry Convergence Institute) and a specialized cybersecurity research institute by the end of the year, in line with the creation of an AI-centered industrial convergence complex by 2024.

The city plans to actively promote the establishment of the AI research institute and the specialized cybersecurity research institute starting next year once the research service is completed.

The Data Industry Convergence Institute will serve as a control tower to create a sustainable AI industry ecosystem by connecting research and development (R&D) projects with non-R&D projects.

The specialized cybersecurity research institute will secure the safety of the AI-specialized data center to be established in the convergence complex and train cybersecurity experts.

At the kickoff meeting, GIST, which is in charge of the research service, presented the research scope, methods, detailed content, and implementation plans.

GIST, as a core research institution for fostering the AI industry, opened an AI graduate school last March and is actively participating with Gwangju City in creating an AI-centered city by nurturing startups and promoting AI as a new future strategic industry.

With the establishment of the AI research institute, Gwangju is expected to become a successful AI-centered city comparable to Silicon Valley.

Son Kyung-jong, Director of the AI Industry Bureau of the city, said, “We hope that this research will lead to the establishment of a new institution that will drive the national AI industry,” adding, “In addition to automobiles, energy, and healthcare, we will create tangible results for Gwangju citizens by linking with Gwangju’s main industries such as culture and light industry, which were excluded from the AI convergence complex project.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.