Gyeonggi Province Library AI Forum 'Beyond AI, We Are' Held

Gyeonggi Province Library and Gyeonggi Research Institute held the 'Gyeonggi Province Library AI Forum-Beyond AI, We Are' on the 20th to discuss the values and direction that artificial intelligence (AI) should pursue in a society where technology is rapidly advancing.

The forum was conducted under the theme of 'AI for a Better Society,' progressing through keynote speeches, designated discussions, and question-and-answer sessions. AI experts, policy researchers, and residents of the province participated in the event.

The keynote speech was delivered by Yoon Seok-won, CEO of AIWORKX, an AI data construction company. CEO Yoon previously worked as a software engineer at Microsoft and Samsung Electronics. Motivated by the reality that career women who received education were unable to obtain employment, he founded an IT startup. He has since been building an inclusive AI ecosystem that connects the strengths of people with developmental disabilities to AI data construction.

CEO Yoon Seok-won began his presentation with the question, "For whom is AI truly developing?" and diagnosed that "as we move beyond generative AI toward the era of physical AI, if the benefits of technology are concentrated in certain companies and capital, technological gaps and inequality could intensify."

To address this, he proposed that AI should be technology that collaborates with humans rather than replacing them, and suggested 'core principles of inclusive and sustainable AI' including data sharing for public interest and reliability verification, lightweight AI accessible to anyone, and sustainability considerations for the environment.

Yoon Myung-hee, Director of Gyeonggi Province Library, served as moderator for the subsequent designated discussion and question-and-answer session.

Director Yoon Myung-hee stated, "This was an occasion where we moved beyond simple technology and industry-oriented discourse, diffused human-centered values based on libraries, and sought mutually beneficial measures to resolve social side effects of the digital transformation era through communication among residents, academia, and industry," adding, "Starting with this event, we plan to continue joint forums between Gyeonggi Province Library and Gyeonggi Research Institute to expand the space for public discourse."