Science and ICT Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Bae Kyung-hoon stated that the government intends to create a security-oriented artificial intelligence (AI) model for the public sector this year as part of initiatives to enhance domestic AI competencies and lessen reliance on foreign AI suppliers.
"We have assessed that by leveraging the AI models we already have and fine-tuning them with security-related data and vulnerability scenarios, it is possible to build a security-focused AI model capable of identifying a wide range of vulnerabilities at the current level of technology,” Bae said during a media conference marking his first year in office at Government Complex Sejong.
Also Read: Singapore Backs Skyroot's Vikram-1 Mission
"We plan to begin development and first apply the security-focused model in the public sector before the end of the year."
He mentioned that the government will assess if the model could be implemented in the private sector later this year or early next year.
Bae positioned the initiative as a component of a broader strategy to attain sovereign AI capacities amidst escalating international rivalry. He observed that top AI models are progressively regarded as strategic resources, with governments seeking to impose more control over their creation and implementation.
He emphasized that the US has moved from supporting open AI models to adopting more restricted systems, while China might eventually pursue a comparable strategy with its presently open models.
"The trend toward governments seeking to control frontier AI models is likely to become stronger. They're almost like nuclear weapons," he says.
Despite upcoming initiatives to create security-oriented AI models, Bae stated that Korea would require significantly more investment to advance frontier AI models like Mythos.
Also Read: Hyundai Motor Group to Take Full Ownership of Boston Dynamics
He mentioned that local developers now get assistance amounting to around 500 to 735 graphics processing units (GPU), whereas a Mythos-class frontier model would need approximately 10,000 Nvidia Vera Rubin GPUs, and hardware expenses alone would reach about 3.5 trillion won ($2.37 billion).
“The ministry is in the process of persuading other ministries and fiscal authorities of the need for an investment of that scale, but nothing has been decided yet,” he says.
The minister stated that the government is following two simultaneous AI strategies: creating local foundation models for public services and industrial AI implementation while also considering investments in cutting-edge AI models that can compete with global leaders.
Also Read: TSMC Plans to Invest Another US$100 Billion in Arizona Fabs
He stated that the government aimed to achieve concrete results from AI implementation while gearing up for the forthcoming age of AI agents, which he identified as the next significant arena for competitiveness.