Science ministry opens public contest to name Korea's "AI for All" service

The science ministry said Monday it will take public submissions for the name and slogan of "AI for All," its national artificial intelligence service, in a contest running from Oct. 26 to Nov. 6.

The contest is meant to spread word of the project's purpose and build public interest and participation ahead of launch, the ministry said. The service, run by consortiums led by SKT, Kakao and KT, is in beta ahead of a full launch this year.

Entries pair a brand name of up to five characters with a slogan of up to 20 characters, submitted with an explanation of up to 300 characters. Any South Korean national may enter once, through an online form. Judging will weigh policy fit, usefulness and scalability, originality, and clarity and completeness, with winners announced on Nov. 16.

The top prize is worth 2 million won ($1,498), and the six winning entries share a total purse of 5.5 million won ($4,119). Ten other valid entrants, excluding the winners, will be drawn to receive vouchers worth 50,000 won ($37) each.

The chosen name and slogan will be applied to the service's screens and to outside promotional materials after consultation with the participating companies.

"Public interest and participation are more important than anything else for the success of 'AI for All,'" said Um Yeol, head of the ministry's artificial intelligence policy office. "We will actively reflect the public's proposals and requests as we prepare and run the service, and build a convenient, high-quality service together with the people."