Bae Gyeong-hun has been nominated as a candidate for Minister, following his role as the chief of AI (artificial intelligence) future planning. Bae, the nominee for the Ministry of Science and ICT, led the development of the super-large AI 'Exaone' while serving as the head of LG AI Research Institute.
On the 24th, Bae arrived at the preparation office for the personnel hearing established at Gwanghwamun Post Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, and met with reporters, stating, "I believe that more investment is needed for us to become one of the world's top three AI powerhouses," and added, "I will do my best to fulfill President Lee Jae-myung's first promise of realizing the goal of being among the world's top three in AI without any setbacks."
On that day, Bae refrained from commenting on specific AI policies. His only statement suggested that he aims to apply AI across all sectors and create an environment where all citizens can effectively utilize AI. Aside from that, he avoided responding, saying that understanding the work comes first. Even when Bae served as the head of LG AI Research Institute, he appeared in media interviews and as a panelist in discussions, primarily discussing LG's AI development.
Bae's thoughts on national AI policies can be inferred from his remarks at a forum last year. In June, Bae was responsible for a presentation in the area of superintelligence (ASI) at the '2024 IS4T (Industrial Future Strategy)' forum hosted by The National Academy of Engineering of Korea, where he discussed the necessary efforts for Korea to bolster its competitiveness in the AI field. Bae is a full member of the National Academy of Engineering of Korea.
During the forum, Bae gave a candid assessment of Korea's competitiveness in the AI sector. As experts from the engineering field and industry gathered, the forum lacked the 'lip service' typically found elsewhere. He noted, "Korea is actively investing and researching in AI, but it is still insufficient," adding, "When looking at the infrastructure, the United States' NVIDIA and Taiwan's TSMC dominate the global AI market together."
In particular, Bae expressed regret over the personnel issue. He mentioned, "Good AI talents nurtured in Korea tend to move abroad, making Korea classified as a net outflow country in terms of AI personnel."
In the face of being at a disadvantage in terms of technology levels, infrastructure, and personnel, Bae proposed 'AI demonstration cities' as a solution. He suggested, "The most constraining factor in AI research is the ownership of data and privacy issues. We need to build AI demonstration cities and apply a regulatory sandbox to allow free use of data and personal information."
He added, "I believe it is necessary to provide incentives, such as tax benefits, to those residing in AI demonstration cities while building a testbed for various AI-related experiments."
One notable innovation task Bae pointed out for the advancement of AI models is humanoids. Humanoids are robots that have two arms and two legs, similar to humans. He stated, "Humanoid robots can integrate directly into human life, ecosystems, and infrastructures, so we need to focus on them," and emphasized that "the key technology in humanoids is 'actionable AI.'"
Actionable AI refers to AI that can autonomously collect and process data to create models and recommend necessary software or services to humans. Bae explained, "For AI to solve humanity's difficult problems and tackle new challenges, it must be able to learn beyond the level of data generated by humans."