SK Telecom joined hands with the Ministry of National Defense to develop a defense-specific artificial intelligence (AI) model based on the telecom operator’s own foundation model.
The two sides on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to apply the SK Telecom consortium’s AI model, developed under the government’s national AI foundation model project, to the defense sector.
Under the MOU, SK Telecom and the ministry agreed to work together to develop and test a defense-specific AI model based on the consortium’s model, while also collecting and utilizing open defense-related data and supporting graphics processing unit (GPU) use for the company. SK Telecom said the collaboration is expected to significantly improve the efficiency of administrative operations in the defense area.
An AI foundation model refers to a large-scale system trained on extensive data that can be adapted for a wide range of downstream applications. The government is pushing forward the national AI foundation model project to secure AI sovereignty. Four consortiums led by SK Telecom, LG AI Research, Upstage and Motif Technologies have passed the first-round evaluation and are upgrading their models ahead of the final evaluation in August.
The MOU is part of the national AI foundation model project and marks the first case of a model in the project being used for the defense sector.
The SK Telecom consortium passed the first-round evaluation with its foundation model A.X K1, which is Korea’s first hyperscale AI model with more than 500 billion parameters, which refers to learned values that a model uses to analyze data. SK Telecom plans to provide the Ministry of National Defense with a lightweight version of the A.X K1 model that reduces model size while improving processing speed.
The company said the MOU holds significance because it demonstrates the model’s practical usability. Since applying AI to the defense sector requires the highest levels of security and data sovereignty, the partnership marks an important first step toward adopting a home-grown model aimed at strengthening defense sovereignty.
In the second quarter of this year, the defense ministry will provide SK Telecom with GPU resources secured through a separate national AI infrastructure project led by the Ministry of Science and ICT. SK Telecom plans to use the resources to develop and demonstrate the AI model while strengthening cooperation for improving national research and development infrastructure.
“It is meaningful that we are contributing to strengthening Korea’s defense competitiveness based on our capabilities spanning AI technologies, data centers and telecommunications,” an SK Telecom official said. “We will continue expanding AI adoption in areas where data sovereignty and security are critical to strengthen Korea’s AI competitiveness.”
Source: Korea Times News
