President Lee: "Will AI Benefit Human Welfare and Peace?"... Hassabis: "Safety Mechanisms Are Essential" (Comprehensive)

Hassabis: "AGI Could Emerge by 2030... AI Safety Guardrails Necessary"

Preparing for Job Changes from AI... Discussion of Basic Income Introduction

Google to Open Seoul AI Campus This Year... "DeepMind to Collaborate on K-Moonshot"

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On April 27, President Lee Jae-myung met with Demis Hassabis, co-founder and CEO of Google DeepMind, known as the 'father of AlphaGo,' to discuss the opportunities and risks arising from the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), as well as ways to foster responsible international cooperation in AI utilization. In particular, President Lee and CEO Hassabis exchanged views on changes in employment and issues of distribution that AI may bring about.

Yonhap News Agency

During the meeting at the Blue House that afternoon, President Lee said to CEO Hassabis, "We are very interested in AI and are making significant national investments," and added, "It is truly uncertain whether this will only contribute to the advancement of humanity’s welfare, or whether it might lead to attacks on humans or even undermine peace for humanity."

In response, CEO Hassabis stated, "I believe AI should be actively utilized in advancing science and in the medical field. That's the very reason why I have dedicated my 30-year career to AI research." Referring to AlphaGo, which was developed by DeepMind, he noted, "Through AlphaGo, we confirmed the ability of machines to learn independently, acquire techniques in the game of Go, and even solve complex problems. I wanted to expand those learnings into science and medicine, and a representative example is the development of AlphaFold, which enables us to understand diseases in greater detail. While AI has infinite potential, there are certainly various risks and concerns that need to be addressed."

President Lee also directly mentioned Gemini, Google’s AI model. He said, "I also frequently use the Gemini program, but I’ve heard that sometimes Gemini does things it wasn’t instructed to do. Is that kind of issue a bug?"

CEO Hassabis replied, "I am truly pleased and honored that the President is using Gemini. When it comes to foundation models, if the instructions we provide are not precise, they can sometimes take a slightly different direction. The key factor when using and developing AI is to ensure it is equipped with proper safeguards, which I call guardrails."

He continued, "As AI becomes more powerful in the future, it will be granted greater autonomy, which we call agent AI, and we will eventually enter the era of artificial general intelligence (AGI). At that point, it will be essential to have safeguards that we can control."

At the beginning of the meeting, there was also light conversation about the 2016 match between 9-dan Lee Sedol and AlphaGo. President Lee asked CEO Hassabis, "Are you aware that you are very famous among the people of Korea? When Lee Sedol, who is a renowned Go player in Korea, lost to AlphaGo, which you created, the entire nation was deeply shocked."

When CEO Hassabis commented that "It was an important match," President Lee laughed and responded, "It was something no one else could win." When President Lee asked, "Now, I suppose no one can surpass AlphaGo in the field of Go?" CEO Hassabis answered, "Now, it is extremely difficult."

When President Lee asked, "Would it be similar even if a person played Go with AI support?" CEO Hassabis replied, "If a person and AI team up to play against AI, there might be a chance."

Following the meeting, Blue House policy chief Kim Yongbeom briefed reporters, saying, "The discussion delved deeply into the rapid advancement of AI technologies, future directions of change, and responsible global cooperation for AI." Kim explained that this meeting is a continuation of President Lee's global AI initiatives. Last October, President Lee met with Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, and Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, and in November, he discussed AI cooperation with Masayoshi Son, Chairman of SoftBank Group.

Kim stated, "The reason leaders of the global AI industry are visiting Korea and requesting meetings with the President is clear: we are a country equipped with semiconductor competitiveness, world-class manufacturing capabilities, stable infrastructure, and top talent." He added, "Such collaborations are evidence that Korea's value as a core partner in the AI era is rising, and that we are elevating our nation’s strategic value to an irreplaceable level."

According to Kim, during the meeting CEO Hassabis predicted that regarding the arrival of AGI, "Within the next five years, possibly by 2030, AGI capable of performing all human cognitive tasks will become a reality." Kim reported that CEO Hassabis commented on the impact of AGI, saying, "It will bring about greater social change at a much faster pace than the Industrial Revolution."

Yonhap News Agency

The two also exchanged views on changes in employment and issues of distribution that AI may bring. Kim stated, "President Lee emphasized the need to prepare for job loss and employment issues that AI may cause," adding, "CEO Hassabis responded that while it is difficult to predict the impact on jobs, there is a need for a new economic model that rethinks the definition of work and redistribution of wealth."

During the conversation, President Lee said, "I have been discussing basic income for over 20 years, but isn’t now the time when basic income is truly needed?" According to Kim, CEO Hassabis responded in agreement with the need for basic income. CEO Hassabis reportedly also mentioned approaches such as having the state provide housing, education, transportation, and healthcare services while incorporating principles of capital markets, as well as linking increased productivity from robots to worker support.

This meeting also served as an opportunity to pursue practical cooperation with Google DeepMind. Kim explained, "President Lee introduced that he is working to establish a global AI hub through diverse cooperation with governments, international organizations, and corporations, so that the benefits of AI technology development can be enjoyed by all, and requested that DeepMind participate as a core partner."

CEO Hassabis was said to have highly praised Korea’s initiative and responded that Google would seek opportunities to participate. Google and DeepMind will collaborate with Korean research and academic communities, and closely cooperate around the government’s 'K-Moonshot Project.' Kim said, "With DeepMind’s world-class scientific capabilities joining forces with our researchers, we expect our capacities in science and technology fields such as bio, meteorology and climate, and future energy to make significant leaps forward."

To support this, the Ministry of Science and ICT and DeepMind plan to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU). Google also plans to open an AI campus in Seoul within this year. Kim explained, "The Seoul AI Campus will be the first to open in Korea outside of the United Kingdom, which is highly significant. Google is actively considering dispatching researchers to Korea, and we requested at least 10 researchers to be dispatched, to which they immediately agreed."

Kim said about the Seoul AI Campus, "It will be a space where Korea's top scientists can freely engage in joint research using Google’s latest models. Korean researchers and Google scientists will be able to conduct mutual research and there will also be opportunities for internships and recruitment."

Yonhap News Agency

Meanwhile, Kim made it clear that the meeting and the Google Maps issue are "completely unrelated." He said, "CEO Hassabis visited Korea for the 10th anniversary of AlphaGo, and the presidential meeting is a separate matter. It has no connection to Google Maps."

Prior to the meeting, CEO Hassabis also prepared a special gift commemorating the famous match between 9-dan Lee Sedol and AlphaGo. CEO Hassabis presented President Lee with a Go board signed by himself and Lee Sedol. At the end of the meeting, President Lee said, "Just as we ushered in the AI era together with Korea ten years ago through the AlphaGo match, I hope that over the next 10 and 20 years we can open up a shining future for everyone’s AI together."

Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, presented a Go board signed by himself and 9-dan Lee Sedol to President Lee Jae-myung on the 27th.

In addition to CEO Hassabis, Google was represented by Wilson White, Vice President and Global Head of Public Policy at Google, and Koo Yoon-gu, CEO of Google Korea. From the government and the Blue House, Minister Bae Kyunghoon of the Ministry of Science and ICT, Kang Hoon-sik, Chief of Staff at the Blue House, Policy Chief Kim, Ha Jungwoo, Senior Secretary for Future AI Planning, and Spokesperson Jeon Eun-soo were also present.

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