The Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI, President Kwon Ho-yeol) held a symposium on the theme of “Policy Directions and Tasks for a Safe AI Society” via an online live broadcast on Friday, November 13.

This symposium was designed to examine the social impact of artificial intelligence (AI), which has become a general-purpose technology in everyday life, and to seek flexible countermeasures against potential risk factors.

Countries around the world, including South Korea, are prioritizing the establishment of ethical principles governing the use of AI as a way to control its potential risks, but various issues that cannot be solved by ethical norms alone will emerge with the spread of AI. In order to effectively control the complexity and uncertainty surrounding AI, it is necessary to seek a multi-faceted control plan, establish policies based on a sociological understanding and empirical evidence of the emergent phenomenon, and strive to reach a social consensus on how to adapt to them.

During the symposium, a round-table session was held along with individual presentations of related research to promote a deeper understanding of the types of phenomena that may occur in the AI field from a broad sociological perspective, followed by a panel discussion on policy response directions.

First, during the presentation session, Professor Lee Sang-wook (Science Philosophy) of Hanyang University, delivered the keynote presentation titled “The Challenges of the AI-based Society in the Future: Ethics, Institutions, and International Cooperation”, followed by individual presentations titled “AI Social Issues and Response Direction”, “Legal and Institutional System Plans to Secure Cyber Safety in the AI Society”, and the “Significance and System of Assessing the Effects of AI Social Policy.”

Prof. Lee Sang-wook introduced the direction of discussions in the international community on AI ethics issues and the implications for the role of the Korean government, under the theme of “Challenges of the AI-based Society in the Future: Ethics, Institutions, and International Cooperation”.

KISDI Research Fellow Cho Sung-eun presented the major policy issues of the AI society and the results of a civic awareness survey, based on an analysis of AI strategy reports and newspaper articles of each country under the theme of “AI Social Issues and Response Direction”.

KISDI Associate Research Fellow Kwon Eun-jung examined the concepts and issues related with cyber safety in the AI society, categorized cyber threats, and explored the possibility of legalization, under the theme of “Legal and Institutional System Plans to Secure Cyber Safety in the AI Society,” which was co-authored by Professor Kim Tae-oh of Changwon National University.

Finally, Professor Shim Woo-min of Gyeongin National University of Education, who collaborated with KISDI on the research, presented a direction for establishing a system of assessing the effects of AI social policy. KISDI has proposed this system as a means to systematically control and complement the uncertain prospects of AI and secure social trust in a situation where actual examples of the social effects of AI are insufficient. This presentation is one of the results of related research.

The round table session, chaired by Lee Ho-yeong, head of KISDI’s Digital Economy & Social Research Division, was held on the theme of “Policy Direction for a Safe AI Society.” The panelists included Professor Nam Tae-woo of Sungkyunkwan University (Public Administration); Professor Seo Yong-seok of KAIST (Future Studies); Chairman Lee Myung-hwa (Politics) of STEPI; Lawyer Yoon Jong-soo, Lee & Ko (Law); and Kim Do-hoon, CEO of Ars Praxia (Sociology).