Science ministry announces South Korea's new AI ethics principles

The science ministry said that South Korea had adopted the Korea Artificial Intelligence Ethics Principles to pursue AI innovation alongside safeguards for safety and trust across society.

The framework sets out three values -- human dignity, the public good and humanity's sustainability -- and seven guidelines: human-centeredness, privacy protection, fairness and inclusiveness, accountability, safety, reliability and transparency. It assigns providers, users, government and society shared responsibility for AI's development, provision and use.

The ministry cited AI's growing use to raise industrial productivity, create new services and help address climate change, population aging and regional disparities. It also pointed to concerns about safety and trust as AI capabilities advance, as well as labor and job changes, copyright, overreliance and AI-assisted decisions such as hiring and evaluation.

The principles were established under Article 27 of the AI Basic Act and will serve as a basis for ethics standards and guidance across all areas of society.

An advisory group prepared a draft released May 29. The ministry said it received 153 opinions from industry, civil society, academia, related ministries and the public before finalizing the principles after an Aug. 14 public forum.

The ministry will prepare and distribute a case-based guide, sector-specific self-checklists and ethics education materials. It also plans to continue reviewing and updating the principles and share them internationally.

"Accelerating AI innovation and creating a safe and trustworthy AI environment are not conflicting tasks," Bae Gyeong-hun, deputy prime minister and science minister, said. "We will support the principles in becoming a practical standard that raises social trust in AI and helps foster desirable development and use and spread its benefits."