Understanding AI and shaping it responsibly
Artificial Intelligence is transforming industries, education, and everyday life in South Korea—shaping how we live, work, communicate, and make decisions. Yet its development is often concentrated in the hands of a few powerful corporations raising urgent questions: Who shapes AI? Who benefits? Who bears the risks?
Current systems often amplify existing biases around gender, class and culture. The workshop Shaping AI: Ethics, Power, Responsibility examined the ethical, social, technical and political dimensions of AI in the Korean context. Topics of this workshop covered AI in education, media, governance, and art, with a focus on the future of building ethical frameworks for Korea’s AI ecosystem. The workshop was also part of a series of AI workshops that took place in Germany, Brazil, South Africa, and India in cooperation with the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb).
Key questions addressed in the workshop included:
- How can we ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability in AI systems while giving communities the tools and support to create and manage their own datasets?
- Who controls AI—global tech giants or local innovators—and what does this mean for Korea’s digital sovereignty?How can AI become a shared cultural resource, created with and for the public?
- What roles do Korean policymakers, developers, and citizens play in creating responsible AI that reflects democratic values and cultural norms?
- What education and legal frameworks are needed so non-technical participants can understand, audit, and reject harmful AI components?
Program highlights included presentations, discussions, and interactive sessions led by leading Korean AI researchers, ethics and civics scholars, tech experts, and artists.
You can find the detailed workshop report here:
