President Lee Jae Myung speaks with Google DeepMind co-founder and CEO Demis Hassabis at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

Korea has partnered with Google DeepMind for expanded global cooperation to advance the country's artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem and promote the responsible use of related technologies, the government said Monday.

The cooperation will help facilitate Korea's “K-Moonshot” project, which brings together AI and science capabilities to tackle major national challenges, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT.

Demis Hassabis, co-founder and CEO of Google DeepMind, visited Korea Monday and met President Lee Jae Myung at Cheong Wa Dae before meeting Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Seoul later in the day to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU).

The meetings came as Korea strives to become one of the world’s top three AI powerhouses, alongside the United States and China.

“The meeting is an extension of the government’s global AI cooperation efforts and will serve as an opportunity to further accelerate policy through collaboration with a world-leading AI company,” the presidential office said.

Google DeepMind heralded the start of what is now recognized as the modern era of AI in 2016, when AlphaGo, a Go-playing AI, captured a 4–1 victory against world-class Korean master Lee Se-dol in a five-game match in Seoul. The game of Go is known locally as "baduk," and the signing ceremony took place in the same venue where the games between Lee and AlphaGo were held in 2016.

The company subsequently demonstrated the potential of AI applications in science and technology through AlphaFold. AlphaFold’s achievement in solving the long-standing challenge of protein structure prediction led to Hassabis being jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2024.

DeepMind's work corresponds with the goals of the K-Moonshot project, which aims to use AI technology for the betterment of the country. The government seeks to use the project to raise research productivity to the world’s fifth-highest level by 2030 and use AI to address 12 national missions by 2035, in areas including advanced biotechnology, energy, space and semiconductors.

The MOU outlined key areas of cooperation, including joint AI research in science and technology, AI skill development and the responsible use of AI.

Source: Korea Times News