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Korea minister backs AI safety boost after audit flags 224-to-1 budget gap
Коротко
At a National Assembly audit of South Korea’s science ministry on Oct. 6, Deputy Prime Minister and Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon said the AI Safety Research Institute needs more staff and budget, calling trust and safety important as AI performance advances. A lawmaker at the hearing said performance-infrastructure spending is 6.149 trillion won against 274 billion won for safety, a gap of 224 to 1. The ministry said it will announce a national AI safety ecosystem master plan in December.
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Deputy Prime Minister and Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon told a National Assembly audit on Oct. 6 that South Korea’s AI Safety Research Institute needs more personnel and funding, saying that trust and safety are important as AI performance develops quickly, Yonhap reported. [ 2 ]
The remarks came in response to questioning by Rep. Lee Joo-hee of the Democratic Party at the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee’s audit of the Ministry of Science and ICT. Lee said performance-infrastructure budget stands at 6.149 trillion won while safety budget is 274 billion won, a ratio of 224 to 1. Newsis reported the same comparison as 6 trillion won against 27.4 billion won, a 224-fold gap. [ 1 , 2 ]
Lee also raised staffing, saying the AI Safety Research Institute’s headcount is rising only from 26 to 38, while Britain has more than 100 staff and Japan plans to go from 60 to 200, according to Yonhap. [ 2 ]
Bae said the government is pursuing two responses following this year’s “Mythos” shock: a security-specialised AI model project to prepare AI cyber-security capacity, and a frontier AI project. He said budget would be allocated next year to produce results in protecting South Korea’s cyber safety. [ 2 ]
The minister also said the government is preparing international activity and capacity to respond to international standards, and that the ministry will establish and announce a national AI safety ecosystem master plan in December. The plan, he said, rests on three strategies: building a national AI safety management system, strengthening advanced AI safety response capacity, and creating an AI environment in people’s daily lives. [ 2 ]
The Newsis report on the same day carried the budget gap in its headline; the readable article text it supplied was about a separate hearing on the Supreme Court and did not cover the AI budget figures. [ 1 ]
Почему это важно
The hearing put the balance between building AI capability and funding AI safety on the public record, with the ministry acknowledging what it called an imbalance and pointing to more staff and money for its safety institute. The ministry also tied the issue to cyber security responses after what it called the “Mythos” shock, and to a master plan due in December that will set out national AI safety policy.
Ключевые факты
- Deputy Prime Minister and Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon told the National Assembly’s science committee that the AI Safety Research Institute’s staff and budget need to be increased. [ 2 ]
- At the same audit, Rep. Lee Joo-hee said performance-infrastructure budget stands at 6.149 trillion won versus 274 billion won for safety, a gap of 224 to 1. [ 2 ]
- Newsis also reported the gap as 6 trillion won against 27.4 billion won, a 224-fold difference. [ 1 ]
- Lee said the AI Safety Research Institute’s staff rises from 26 to 38, against more than 100 in Britain and plans for 60 to 200 in Japan. [ 2 ]
- Bae said the government is pursuing a security-specialised AI model project and a frontier AI project after this year’s “Mythos” shock. [ 2 ]
- The ministry plans to establish and announce a national AI safety ecosystem master plan in December, with three strategies covering a national safety management system, advanced safety response capacity and AI in daily life. [ 2 ]
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- What the “Mythos” shock was and what it involved The Yonhap article refers to it as a development this year but does not describe it, and no other document explains it.
- Who calculated the 6.149 trillion won and 274 billion won figures and on what basis The comparison is attributed to a lawmaker’s questioning at the audit; the documents do not say whether the numbers are official government figures.
- Whether the December master plan comes with additional budget for AI safety The documents describe the plan’s three strategies but not its funding.
- Most of the detail of document 1 beyond its headline The readable text carried by that outlet was about a separate National Assembly hearing on the Supreme Court, not the AI budget.