New AI policy chief warns of export control risks, vows push for homegrown AI
Ha Jung-woo, the new standing vice chairman of the Presidential Council on National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (NAIS), said Monday that Korea must continue efforts to develop competitive AI capabilities of its own to mitigate future risks such as potential export controls on top-tier artificial intelligence (AI) models. During a press conference marking his appointment, Ha said export…
Ha Jung-woo, the recently appointed standing vice chairman of the Presidential Council on National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (NAIS), has warned of the potential risks associated with export controls on advanced AI models. In a press conference to announce his new role, Ha emphasized the importance of Korea continuing to develop its own AI capabilities to prevent future limitations.
Ha pointed out that export controls on leading AI models could be imposed at any moment, citing a recent U.S. restriction on Anthropic's Mythos 5 model in June. This incident raised concerns about AI tools becoming strategic assets, potentially creating divides in national AI capabilities. "Disparities in access to leading AI models could cause gaps in national capabilities," Ha stated.
The national foundation model project in South Korea, aimed at creating domestically developed frontier-level AI models using local technology, is facing increasing scrutiny. Ha's remarks come as people question whether the models developed through this initiative will be sufficient to rival global AI leaders.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
