“The copyright holder requested 1 million won to learn one book. If the expense becomes this large, the development of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry will be difficult.”
The ‘4th AI Future Value Forum’ was held on the 27th at C Square in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, hosted by the Korea Telecommunications Operators Association (KTOA). Lee Yeong-tak, Deputy Minister of SK Telecom, who attended as a panelist, noted that “for the development of the AI industry, a social consensus is needed to set reasonable levels of copyright fees.”
In response, Kim Soo-jung, a commissioner at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, “The government is also trying to secure a significant budget necessary for producing high-quality data.” She explained, “The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the National Artificial Intelligence Committee are also engaging in extensive discussions on copyright issues related to AI learning.”
The Deputy Minister emphasized that as AI develops, energy consumption may rapidly increase, necessitating preparations for this. He explained, “It is said that 732 data centers (DC) will be established in Korea by 2029, but the power capacity needed to operate over 730 DCs simultaneously is estimated at 49 gigawatts (GW). Currently, Korea's maximum generation capacity (the maximum simultaneous output of nationwide power plants) is only 115 GW,” adding that “to become a true AI powerhouse, Korea must secure stable power.”
The Deputy Minister continued, “Many corporations are trying to build AI DCs in the metropolitan area, but it will be hard to do so due to the power shortage. The provinces are also unlikely to have surplus power,” stating that “the industry believes solar power will be a solution, but solar power, which is unable to provide electricity at night, cannot be part of the solution.”
Kim Hoon-dong, executive director of KT's AI lead, mentioned the importance of co-growth through cooperation with overseas big tech companies. He stated, “It is not necessary for all corporations in Korea to pursue their own AI development as a singular strategy during this AI tumult. However, we should not solely rely on overseas firms,” adding, “Climbing on the shoulders of giants (overseas big tech) for co-growth and leveraging that will also help in global expansion.” He further noted, “KT is targeting niche markets in AI applications by partnering with overseas companies like Microsoft and Palantir.”
Kim Ki-hyun, a researcher at LG Uplus's AX Technology Group, warned about the reproduction of data using ChatGPT. He noted, “Data is vital in the process of developing AI and large language models (LLM). In the past, producing data required substantial capital and manpower, but now we have fallen into the paradox of reusing data produced by AIs like ChatGPT,” adding that “there needs to be a widespread recognition that corporations must invest significantly in the production of high-quality data.”
Experts from the AI and IT industry participating in the forum voiced that “regulatory improvements are necessary to enhance domestic AI competitiveness.” Lee Sang-hak, vice president of KTOA, emphasized that “to enhance competitiveness in the AI field, domestic telecommunications companies need regulatory exemptions.” He noted that a social consensus is necessary regarding the relaxation of copyright regulations for data used in AI learning.