Global Cooperation Critical for Safe Development of AI, Minister Lee Jong-Ho Says at Seoul Summit.

The science and information technology minister of South Korea, Lee Jong-Ho, emphasized the importance of global cooperation for successful development of AI in a summit held in Seoul. The summit, co-hosted with Britain, discussed concerns such as job security, copyright, and inequality. Sixteen tech companies signed a voluntary agreement to develop AI safely. On the following day, 14 companies including Google, Microsoft and OpenAI pledged to use methods like watermarking to help identify AI-generated content and ensure job creation and support for socially vulnerable groups.

In an interview with Reuters, Minister Lee Jong-Ho highlighted the necessity of cooperation in regulating AI technology effectively. He anticipated that future summits would focus on collaboration on AI safety institutes. The first global AI summit took place in Britain in November 2020, with the next in-person meeting expected to be held in France around 2025. Participants from various countries discussed the importance of cooperation between state-backed AI safety institutes to regulate the technology effectively.

AI experts welcomed the progress made in starting to regulate AI but emphasized the need for enforcement of rules. They proposed that AI services should be required to meet safety standards before being introduced to the market to prevent potential harm and public backlash. Minister Lee acknowledged that laws often lag behind technological advancements like AI but stressed the importance of flexible regulations to ensure safe use by the public.