Kakao announced on August 28 that it has been selected as the lead organization for the Ministry of Science and ICT's "Everyone's AI" project, aimed at providing universal access to artificial intelligence services. The company plans to leverage the expertise of its consortium partners to build these services.
The Kakao-led consortium includes key participants such as LG Uplus, LG AI Research, LG Electronics, LG CNS, Kakao Enterprise, Seoul National University Hospital, Shinhan Bank, Lunit, Wonderful Platform, Worksphere, Jarvis & Villains, Day One Company, Crowdworks, and Furiosa AI, totaling 14 companies and institutions.
The consortium aims to integrate its own AI models, communication and device infrastructure, and public system capabilities with expertise in various fields, including healthcare, finance, taxation, education, employment, caregiving, data, and semiconductors, to deliver high-quality AI services.
The "Everyone's AI" service will be built around KakaoTalk and voice AI, featuring a general-purpose AI chatbot, public AI agents, and specialized AI agents for different sectors. The goal is to create a seamless experience that lowers the barriers to AI utilization.
The service will operate based on proprietary AI models developed by LG AI Research's K-Exa One and Kakao's Kanana. The company is conducting quality and safety verifications and ensuring accessibility for all users, including the elderly and digitally vulnerable populations.
The consortium plans to launch a beta service in September. Following this, it will gather user feedback to refine the service before an official rollout later this year.
Kakao has previously gained experience in developing public AI services using KakaoTalk. In March, it launched a pilot service called "AI National Secretary," which provides conversational services for issuing electronic certificates and booking public facilities, and has since enhanced the service with voice features. The "Everyone's AI" initiative is seen as an expansion of its AI agent experiments from the public sector into broader areas such as finance, healthcare, and education.
Kim Se-woong, leader of Kakao's AI synergy performance, stated, "The core of this service is to make AI easily accessible through the familiar KakaoTalk platform, enabling users to seamlessly complete various tasks in their daily lives beyond simple information searches. We will collaborate with consortium partners to create a user-friendly national AI service platform."
Go Jin-tae, head of enterprise strategy at LG Uplus, added, "Through Everyone's AI, we aim to provide an environment where users can access AI with just a phone call, without the need for app installations or separate subscriptions. We will leverage our nationwide offline stores and communication infrastructure to extend AI benefits to the elderly and digitally vulnerable populations, fulfilling our role and responsibility as a key participant in enhancing the domestic AI ecosystem alongside Kakao and the LG Group."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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