Baek Gung-hoon: "Korea Must Develop AI Models Like Anthropic's 'Mythos'... Preparing for the Future" (Comprehensive)

Inaugural Meeting of the Science and Technology·AI Future Strategy Council

"Experts from All Fields Urged to Make Bold Proposals through the Council"

Background Hoon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT.

"Instead of asking whether Korea will participate in Anthropic's cybersecurity cooperation initiative, the 'Glasswing Project,' the question should be whether Korea can develop an artificial intelligence (AI) model on the level of 'Mythos'."

Baek Gung-hoon, Deputy Prime Minister for Science and Technology and Minister of Science and ICT, made these remarks during his opening address at the inaugural meeting of the 'Science and Technology·AI Future Strategy Council,' held at the National Science and Technology Advisory Council in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, on May 13. He expressed his disappointment over the continued questions about Korea's potential participation in the Glasswing Project.

Deputy Prime Minister Baek stated, "Korea aims to challenge the world's top three in AI competitiveness, but our awareness and preparation are still lacking." He continued, "Today we are discussing strategies for the science and technology roadmap from 2030 to 2035, but we also need to critically examine whether our policies set for 2030 are truly appropriate."

On this day, the Ministry of Science and ICT held the kick-off meeting of the Science and Technology·AI Future Strategy Council, officially commencing its operations. The council is composed of 17 experts not only from science and AI research, but also from economics, industry, education, healthcare, culture, law, and other sectors. Its role is to analyze the interaction between advanced technology and societal change, and to identify policy directions and national agendas needed for the transition of future society.

Deputy Prime Minister Baek remarked, "The Ministry of Science and ICT established a future strategy for 2045 in 2020," adding, "At that time, there was no roadmap concerning the emergence of generative AI." He further noted, "Now, with the rise of large language models (LLMs) and generative AI, and as we race to prepare for the era of physical AI, the pace is so fast that it makes us question the relevance of long-term plans."

He continued, "Google DeepMind predicts that the era of artificial general intelligence (AGI) will arrive by 2030, while Anthropic suggests it could come within just one or two years. If we assume that superintelligence will emerge beyond AGI, it is essential to discuss and assess how the science and technology and industrial sectors should prepare."

He also cautioned, "If we fail to discuss and reflect emerging strategies for the future in our policies now, we may face significant crises ahead." He called on experts from all fields to make bold proposals through the Future Strategy Council and hoped that concrete discussions would lead to policy implementation.

During the meeting, two presentations addressed topics such as the changing role of humans in the AI era and the transformation of the creative ecosystem.

First, Kim Juho, Professor at the Kim Jaechul AI Graduate School at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), delivered a presentation titled "Science Between Technology and People in the AI Era: Invisible Gaps and Conditions for Coexistence." Professor Kim discussed the division of roles and coexistence strategies between AI and humans, as well as new social inequality issues that may arise during technological advancement.

Next, Kwon Hanseul, Korea's first AI film director and CEO of Studio Freewillusion, presented on the current state and future of AI transformation (AX) in the video content industry, highlighting how the spread of AI-based production technologies will reshape the content industry and creative ecosystem.

During the open discussion, experts from various fields exchanged views on not only coexistence between humans and AI and changes in the creative ecosystem, but also on the restructuring of industrial and economic systems brought by advanced technology, the redefinition of human roles, and national preparedness for future generations.

The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to hold regular quarterly meetings of the Future Strategy Council. The key agenda items discussed will undergo in-depth research in collaboration with relevant research institutes and will be sequentially published as the "Future Agenda Series." Matters requiring inter-ministerial cooperation will be linked with the Council of Ministers for Science and Technology to enhance policy execution.

Professor Shin Jinwoo of KAIST commented, "If you look at the industries where Korea is number one, our engineering and practical skills are excellent. While we are now aiming for the global top three in AI, I believe we already have sufficient industrial capabilities, talent, and government policy support to become number one." He added, "If we focus investments on AI, I believe that in two to three years, Korea will be entering an era where we discuss our own model like Mythos."

Deputy Prime Minister Baek concluded, "AI and advanced technologies have ushered in a period of fundamental transformation for national systems and daily life. It is now time for the public and private sectors to jointly and proactively prepare a future national strategy."

Meanwhile, prior to the event, Deputy Prime Minister Baek told reporters that the government is actively pursuing Korea's participation in the Glasswing Project at the governmental level, but emphasized that there is no need to become fixated on participating in the project itself.

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