The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Vice Minister Kim Ei-tak presided over the first National Land and Transport AI (artificial intelligence) relay roundtable held on the afternoon of the 10th at the AI Hub in Seocho-gu, Seoul.
The roundtable was the first in a relay series planned with the goal of leading a structural shift across AI technology, policy, and industry, and of institutionalizing discussions on innovation to steadily expand them.
Held under the theme "In the AI era, where cities should go," the roundtable brought together about 10 experts in urban and AI fields, including the Smart City Architecture Society, the Architecture & Urban Research Institute (AURI), the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements (KRIHS), and the Seoul AI Hub Center.
They discussed the concept of an AI city that converts living spaces such as transportation and housing to an AI-based model and concrete execution plans. They also shared global technology trends related to AI cities and directions for domestic application.
In the first presentation, Kim Do-nyeon, president of the Smart City Architecture Society, said, "The core of AI technology competition lies in the capacity for demonstration and diffusion in urban space, and the neighborhood (hyperlocal), not the national or city unit, is the minimum operating unit of physical AI."
He went on to emphasize that Korea, which has world-class urban infrastructure and digital receptivity, has a strategic opportunity. A hyperlocal is the minimum living and service unit—and a unit of policy projects—in which walking and transportation, parking, energy, building operations, safety, and care within a 15-minute walkable living area are operated in an integrated manner.
In the second presentation, the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements (KRIHS) presented the concept of an AI city in which the city diagnoses problems and makes decisions on its own, centered on Urban AI, and explained a phased implementation strategy including creating AI pilot cities for residency and demonstration, building core infrastructure, and forming an innovation ecosystem.
After the presentations, a free discussion and Q&A among the experts at the roundtable followed on strategies to concretize AI-based urban services so people can feel changes from AI city development in their daily lives, and on ways to secure the global competitiveness of K-AI City.
Vice Minister Kim said, "Starting with the call for proposals for the AI-specialized pilot city project implemented on Mar. 6, we will spare no policy support for AI cities so people can enjoy safe and pleasant lives," adding, "We expect AI technology to become the foundation for creating new industries and innovating public services in the land, infrastructure, and transport sector, and we will swiftly establish concrete action plans based on the suggestions."