South Korea, host of summit, urges global cooperation on AI technology.

The South Korean science and information technology minister emphasized the importance of global cooperation in the successful development of AI as a summit in Seoul on the technology concluded. The summit, co-hosted with Britain, addressed various concerns such as job security, copyright, and inequality. A voluntary agreement was signed by 16 tech companies committed to developing AI safely, and a separate pledge was signed by 14 companies, including Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI, to utilize methods like watermarking to identify AI-generated content and ensure job creation and support for vulnerable groups.

Minister Lee Jong-Ho highlighted the necessity of cooperation in AI development and emphasized the significance of discussions around innovation and inclusivity at the summit. He mentioned that future summits would likely focus on collaboration in establishing AI safety institutes to regulate the technology effectively. The first global AI summit was held in Britain in 2021, with the next scheduled to take place in France in 2025.

Government officials from various countries discussed the potential for cooperation between state-backed AI safety institutes to regulate AI technology. While AI experts welcomed the progress made in regulating AI, some emphasized the need for enforceable rules and government involvement in setting these rules. They stressed the importance of ensuring that AI services meet mandatory safety standards before being released to the market, to prevent potential harm and backlash.

Minister Lee acknowledged that laws often lag behind the rapid advancements in AI technology and emphasized the need for flexible regulations to ensure the safe use of AI by the public. He stressed the importance of having laws and regulations in place to protect users while promoting innovation and growth in the AI sector.