Artificial Intelligence In Governments: South Korea As Case Study – OpEd
By Dr. Azly Rahman and Ho Lee
Introduction
Our world has been changing and adapting to new technologies and initiatives at unprecedented and increasingly accelerating rates. Among the various new technologies introduced to our societies, AI (Artificial Intelligence) is one of the most prominent, promising, as well as potentially problematic. While some have raised concerns about the use and reliance on such new technologies, as well as their impact on humanity, these concerns have been amplified, especially as AI technologies expand into governmental and military sectors.
AI, or Artificial Intelligence, is an intelligence exhibited by machines, especially advanced computer systems, differing from other technologies in that such machines are adaptable to environments and utilize learning and intelligence to further improve and achieve their proposed goals (Russell & Norvig, 2021).
In this essay, we explore the use of AI technologies vis-à-vis the internet, specifically in government sectors, including both their application in government work and the potential consequences, as well as possible reasons behind recent changes in approaches in South Korea.
AI Use in Governments
Although not as extensive as some might expect, AI has been steadily finding its place in government sectors throughout recent years. For example, in peripheral and local governments, AI technologies have traditionally been widely used and explored in the fields of science and research, including gathering census data and conducting scientific research. However, the use of AI has recently expanded to cover more core functions and management tasks in government, such as resource allocation, emergency relief, and public works and services (Civic Plus, 2024).
For instance, throughout the pandemic, the German government implemented AI systems to manage and analyze the spread of the disease and allocate necessary resources. A growing number of research nwo points towards comparative analysis of how governments, especially advanced industrialized and technology-rich countries are embarking upon the use of AI in virtually all strategic sectors. The global accounting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) recently released a report on how much investments are made in this new sector of technology and governance (see: https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/data-and-analytics/publications/artificial-intelligence-study.html)
Recent Liberal Approach in South Korea
South Korea’s approach to the implementation and control of AI technologies can be summarized as a nation-state that is quite liberal and hands-off when it comes to the use of AI, the internet, and other advanced digital communication technologies. A global internet growth monitoring body, Freedom House, assigned a score of 83/100 to South Korea, placing this East Asian economic powerhouse on par with other developed countries, including the United States, when it comes to upholding free speech and the flow of information.
However, due to its unique geography and political and strategic situation in East Asia, South Korea has exerted significant controls and regulations over certain sectors, alluding to our discussion on the idea of Splinternet (“national-controlled internet”) and how this country negotiates its need to protect national borders against the global demand for free information in a world marked by anarchic control of information across time and space. For instance, especially regarding national security measures and social order controls, South Korea has notably taken very conservative approaches toward foreign media and the internet. The South Korean government, due to national security concerns, restricted foreign internet and service providers (e.g., Google and Apple) from accessing geospatial data and live geographic information (Geospatial Information Management Act of the Republic of Korea).
Recently, South Korea gained international attention for potentially changing its approaches to liberalize the use of technologies in deeper spheres. In September 2024, Seoul hosted the 2024 Responsible AI in the Military Domain Summit (REAIM), which specifically discussed the use of AI technologies in military infrastructures, as well as potential cooperation in AI use in military fields between nations. At the summit, nearly sixty countries, including South Korea, endorsed a new “blueprint” for the use and cooperation of AI technologies in the military, which could be interpreted as a significant step away from South Korea’s traditional stance on AI use and data sharing (Reuters, 2024). Beyond this “blueprint,” South Korea has also taken more liberal measures in recent months. The country also hosted the AI Seoul Summit, which primarily focused on cooperation and strengthening the safety, security, and development of AI technologies in the developed world (AI Seoul Summit, 2024). Prominent items among the declaration are:
” … 5. We call for enhanced international cooperation to advance AI safety, innovation, and inclusivity to harness human-centric AI to address the world’s greatest challenges, to protect and promote democratic values, the rule of law and human rights, fundamental freedoms and privacy, to bridge AI and digital divides between and within countries, thereby contributing to the advancement of human well-being, and to support practical applications of AI, including to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals. … 6. We advocate for policy and governance frameworks, including risk-based approaches, that foster safe, innovative, and inclusive AI ecosystems. Frameworks should facilitate a virtuous cycle between human creativity and the development and use of AI, promote socio-cultural, linguistic, and gender diversity, and promote environmentally sustainable development and use of technology and infrastructure throughout the life cycle of commercially and publicly available AI systems. …” (AI Seoul Summit, 2024)
Additionally, the South Korean government has produced more proactive rhetoric in encouraging and developing AI firms and technological bases in the country, rather than strictly limiting and regulating under concerns of national security, as in previous years. One notable example is Pangyo Techno Valley, a district in Seongnam, South Korea, with a dense concentration of AI and IT industries and firms, supported and cooperated with the government.Analysis
Although these recent moves by South Korea could be seen as unprecedented historically, there are likely explanations that support the heightened liberalization of AI into public and private sectors (msit.go.kr) . Below are the major ones:
Firstly, the growing tensions in East Asia and the polarization of the world can be considered one of the crucial motivating factors for the abrupt movement in South Korean politics. Located near aggressive neighbors, notably China, North Korea, and Russia, and contrasting with its deep alliance with the United States and other Western powers, South Korea is often cited as the frontier of the United States-led military alliance.
As tensions rise in East Asia due to the increasing Korean conflict and ongoing missile threats from North Korea, endless economic warfare, nationalism and protectionism in China, as well as the current Russo-Ukrainian War, it is predictable that South Korea is keen on consolidating alliances to protect herself from potential threats. When considering the signatory countries of the “blueprint,” which are mostly all Western or Western-allied countries, including all G7 countries, while China remains an opt-out, it signifies the country’s intention to use AI as a tool of military-economic-strategic engagement to protect herself by sharing and cooperating with her alliances. The political-economic and strategic issues in the Pacific Rim remain areas of potential volatility.
Secondly, the rise of South Korean-led technologies and innovations could have been a pivotal motivation for the government to allow liberalization and even interference with the internal government network. As AI technologies rise globally, the South Korean government, as mentioned, has invested significantly in new technologies and innovations within the country, such as low-interest loans provided for entrepreneurs, offering more courses and opportunities in IT-related fields and sectors, and creating AI-specific districts throughout the country. This has led to the massive emergence of new AI firms and technologies based in South Korea, such as Naver’s HyperCLOVA X, (to compete with Chat GPT) which has significantly reduced South Korea’s concerns about foreign interference in security and allowed deeper integration into internal government and military operations (CNBC, 2023).
Lastly, by leveraging developments in crucial country-specific sectors and industries, particularly semiconductors, South Korea may attempt to use these as a new safety net—often referred to as the “Taiwan Shield,” echoing Taiwan’s use of TSMC in similar manner—to protect itself from foreign threats and secure further military protections from the United States, given its importance in the global economy and to American industries.
Conclusion
In this essay, we examined South Korea’s recent implementation of AI technologies in government and military as unprecedented actions in the country’s history, as a case study of the use of AI by national governments. When considering the growing political-economic and strategic tensions in East Asia, in conjunction with its rapid internal development of technologies, it may have been a more logical and expected decision by Seoul to open up its AI technologies and start cooperating with foreign countries and global corporations.
Although it is impossible to predict the consequences of that decision, it is likely that South Korea will continue to be well-integrated into Western societies economically and ideologically while experiencing rapid growth in uncharted territories, signifying major changes and shifts in the economic, political, and even social elements of the country.
In the final analysis, only time will determine the consequences of these changes vis-à-vis global developments, as AI technology continues to dictate and dominate the trajectories of these decisions and global responses.
References
AI Seoul Summit (2024), AI Seoul Summit https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-korea-summit-target-blueprint-using-ai-military-2024-09-09/
Chiang, S. (2023, August 4). “South Korea’s Naver Launches Generative AI Services to Compete with Chat GPT” https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/24/south-koreas-naver-launches-generative-ai-services-to-compete-with-chatgpt.html
Civic Plus (2024), The Role and Use of AI In Local Governments
Ministry of Science and Information Technology, Korea: https://www.msit.go.kr/eng/bbs/view.do?sCode=eng&mId=4&mPid=2&pageIndex=&bbsSeqNo=42&nttSeqNo=509&searchOpt=ALL&searchTxt
Norvig, R. and Russell, S. (2021), Artificial Intelligence – A Modern Approach. Pearson.
Joyce Lee (Reuters, 2024), Sixty countries endorse ‘blueprint’ for AI use in military; China opts out https://www.reuters.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/south-korea-summit-announces-blueprint-using-ai-military-2024-09-10/
“Sizing the Prize”: PwC’s Global Artificial Intelligence Study (2023) https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/data-and-analytics/publications/artificial-intelligence-study.html
