South Korea's Ambitious Plan to Create Its Own ChatGPT
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Synopsis
On February 20, South Korea announced its intention to develop a homegrown version of ChatGPT, supported by the government for research and development, as stated by acting President Choi Sang-mok during a committee meeting focused on enhancing the nation's AI capabilities.
Key Takeaways
- South Korea is developing its own AI chatbot.
- Government will support AI research and development.
- DeepSeek poses both challenges and opportunities.
- 10,000 GPUs to be acquired for AI advancements.
- Data protection concerns arise from DeepSeek's operations.
Seoul, Feb 20 (NationPress) South Korea is set to embark on the creation of its own ChatGPT-like AI chatbot, as stated by acting President Choi Sang-mok on Thursday, who promised comprehensive government backing for research and development (R&D).
During a high-level committee meeting focused on establishing South Korea as one of the top three AI superpowers, Choi highlighted the necessity for collaboration between the government and private enterprises.
He remarked, “The global AI race has entered a new phase,” underscoring that leading AI nations have unveiled significant investments in AI infrastructure, according to reports from Yonhap news agency.
Choi pointed out DeepSeek, a large AI model from a Chinese startup, as both a challenge and an opportunity for South Korea, which is perceived as a newcomer in this field.
“The government will provide full support for the development of world-class AI models,” Choi assured.
To enhance AI capabilities, the government intends to acquire 10,000 high-performance graphics processing units (GPUs) this year. By the end of 2023, South Korea had around 2,000 GPUs, essential for AI progress.
Choi announced that the government would offer substantial GPU resources and funding for research to maintain the nation’s leadership in AI innovation.
This week, South Korea's data protection authority verified that the DeepSeek chatbot, developed by a China-based AI startup, transmitted user data to a third party, specifically ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok.
This confirmation followed the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) temporarily halting new downloads of DeepSeek in South Korea due to concerns regarding its data collection methods.
This was the first instance where the regulator acknowledged potential user data leaks by DeepSeek to external parties. Under South Korean legislation, explicit user consent is mandatory if personal information is shared with third parties.
