Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Baek Kyung-hoon recently addressed the controversy surrounding the 'AI Foundation Model' project, stating, "The AI Foundation Model will continue."
On September 30, Baek shared a post on his social media, declaring, "The Republic of Korea's AI Foundation Model continues."
He noted, "Given the various forecasts and speculations surrounding the AI Foundation Model and Frontier AI, I felt it was necessary to communicate with the public about our current considerations." Previously, uncertainty regarding the third evaluation of the AI Foundation Model had raised questions about the effectiveness of government-led AI initiatives.
Baek emphasized, "To be clear, the AI Foundation Model will continue, and I believe South Korea must also challenge itself with Frontier AI."
He assessed that merely having a 'good model' is insufficient for competing in the global market. Baek stated, "Our models must be chosen and utilized in industry and research settings. We must seriously acknowledge that China's open-weight models are currently being used in many fields."
He evaluated that the competitive landscape among global tech giants has shifted towards Frontier AI models. Baek remarked, "Global tech companies are investing massive computing resources into the competition for Frontier models, making AI a strategic technology impacting national cybersecurity and industrial competitiveness."
He explained that the motivation to pursue Frontier AI is to narrow the gap between global tech giants and South Korea. Baek warned, "The disparity between countries with and without Frontier AI could widen significantly in the future. We must pursue Frontier AI, and this pursuit should not halt the AI Foundation Model." He added, "As government and private sector investments in graphics processing units (GPUs) are expanding significantly, we need to consider how to cultivate more possibilities."
Baek also outlined the government's direction for model development. He stated that through the third evaluation of the AI Foundation Model, they aim to demonstrate its competitiveness in industry, academia, and public sectors while elevating Frontier AI as a 'national strategic asset.'
He concluded, "We will break through the technological limits of South Korea with Frontier AI, and the AI Foundation Model will serve as two pillars for our AI to be utilized across industries and society. It is not a matter of choosing one over the other."
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.