Tensions are rising in the domestic artificial intelligence (AI) industry as the Trump administration's second term begins. The Trump administration, which emphasizes "America First," is expected to promote domestic-centered investments and ease various regulations. As a result, concerns are growing that the gap in AI technology between the United States and South Korea will widen as American AI corporations accelerate their technology development.
According to the IT industry on the 22nd, the Trump administration is expected to relax regulations to enhance the technological competitiveness of related corporations as it views AI as a strategic resource for the U.S. President Trump revoked an executive order related to AI stability on his first day in office. Previously, former President Biden mandated sharing safety test results related to AI development with the government. President Trump criticized this as "illegal censorship," stating it hinders innovation in the AI industry.
Investments and support for corporations will also be strengthened. President Trump announced on the 21st (local time) that he would invest $500 billion (approximately 718.5 trillion won) in AI infrastructure in the United States. For this project, three companies, OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle, plan to establish a joint venture called "Stargate." OpenAI will focus on AI technology development, SoftBank on financial support, and Oracle on building and operating data centers. Microsoft, NVIDIA, and ARM are also expected to participate as technology partners. The strategy aims to accelerate the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI) that surpasses human capabilities through regulatory relief and infrastructure enhancement.
As the Trump administration has pledged to lower corporate taxes by up to 15% and reduce interest rates, it is expected that securing investment funds for AI corporations, which require significant capital input, will become easier. Notably, considering the AI competition as a contest against China, there are expectations that additional incentives for regulatory relief and technology development policies will be provided to avoid losing the competitive edge.
Domestic AI-related corporations are showing signs of tension with Trump's inauguration. Given that President Trump is promoting an "America First" agenda, there is a strong possibility that he will take measures to prevent leaks of advanced technology and AI chips for the sake of nurturing the domestic AI industry and national security. Additionally, if tariffs are imposed on technologies necessary for building AI, the burden of AI research and development on each corporation will increase.
Concerns are being raised that the gap in AI technology between the United States and South Korea will widen as American AI corporations, unencumbered by regulations, accelerate technology development. In reality, while domestic companies like Naver, LG, Samsung Electronics, and NCSOFT are developing large language models (LLM), they lag behind global tech giants such as OpenAI, Google, Meta, and Anthropic in terms of capital and technological prowess.
In this situation, there are concerns that the government's AI-related regulations could lead to reverse discrimination. The upcoming AI Basic Law set to take effect this month, along with the proposed AI Service User Protection Law by the Korea Communications Commission, the proposed AI Personal Information Protection Law by the Personal Information Protection Commission, revisions to the financial sector's AI operational guidelines by the Financial Services Commission, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's protections for creators of AI-generated copyrights and industrial development, all reflect the inclusion of AI regulations from various ministries.
An IT industry official noted, "The U.S. is pouring enormous amounts of money into a strategy to dominate the AI field," and stated, "In Korea, the global gap in the AI sector is widening." He further mentioned, "In relation to the AI Basic Law, regulations should be carefully enacted for the subordinate regulations so that they do not burden corporations."