[Trend] Creating a Smart Life with AI

In the era of AI transformation (AX), the focus is undeniably on AI policies, development, and services. In early January this year, 21% of the companies participating in the world's largest electronics show (CES, Las Vegas) were AI companies, and there were over 11,000 new AI services. With ChatGPT leading the charge, generative AI is penetrating the world and significantly impacting various industries. It is expected that the adoption of generative AI in public sectors will expand for both internal and external operations.

In Korea, high-speed internet networks were established in early 1998, and by 2001, the computerization of administrative tasks for e-Government implementation was completed. The e-Government aimed to provide efficient and effective administrative services based on information and communication technologies. In 2008, the U-City law was enacted, integrating IT technology into urban infrastructure to provide major city functions and information easily and anytime. This law was revised to the Smart City Act in 2017, shifting from public-led to private-participation policies. Various service developments have been attempted, including infrastructure, tourism, healthcare, and welfare. A smart city is essentially a "digital platform," integrating digital systems like the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, AI, and cloud computing to provide accurate and timely information to citizens, along with safer services.

Today, smart cities represent an ideal vision pursued by cities worldwide. Various countries have dedicated agencies for smart city implementation, and numerous exhibitions and conferences are held to support this. A prestigious smart city exhibition is the Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC), held annually in Barcelona, Spain, every November. In 2022, Seoul won the top award (City Strategy) at this event.

At the start of the new year, CES 2024 in Las Vegas opened its doors with the slogan "All Together, All On," embracing advanced technologies and visions, including AI. The exhibition, aimed at addressing global challenges through the integration of advanced technologies across all industries, featured over 4,000 companies from more than 150 countries. South Korea ranked second in the number of foreign participating companies, after China.

AI and Mobility

After overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic, CES attracted 130,000 attendees from around the world. This year’s key topics are undoubtedly "AI and Mobility." The advent of ChatGPT has shifted the digital paradigm, with AI becoming a core element across all industries. Digital transformation (DX) is becoming an outdated term, with AI transformation (AX) emerging as the defining trend of the era. Nearly half of the exhibiting companies at CES this year expanded into various AI convergence areas, such as AI, robotics, IoT, smart homes, energy, digital healthcare, and autonomous vehicles. Pioneering AI researcher Jürgen Schmidhuber emphasized “AI for All,” a message that Samsung Electronics echoed with its "AI for All" billboard at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) North Hall.

The dominance of big tech lies in digital platforms. The benefits of AI should be accessible to all through the sharing of user AI models. Recent attention has been drawn to on-device AI, which equips devices with generative AI capabilities without requiring cloud connectivity. This enables personalized AI agents on personal smartphones for tasks like voice recognition, facial recognition, and natural language processing.

CES, along with the Mobile World Congress (MWC) held annually in Barcelona in February and the International Consumer Electronics Show (IFA) held in Berlin in September, is considered one of the top three ICT exhibitions globally. South Korea, a digital powerhouse, must now take a leading role rather than just participating as an observer.

Smart Life Week (SLW) 2024

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon recently announced the "Smart Life Week (SLW) 2024," which will be held from October 10 to 12 at COEX in Gangnam. The event, hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and organized by the Seoul Digital Foundation, is the first of its kind and aims to showcase "The Future of Cities Transformed by Advanced Technologies." The difference between CES and SLW can be understood as "Technology vs. People," meaning SLW will focus on how cutting-edge technology integrates into daily life. The event will highlight smart lifestyles across various life stages, including healthcare, beauty, robotics, and autonomous driving, and will include AR experience spaces, global smart city networking, the Seoul Smart City Awards, and various conferences.

Recent events include the inaugural Global Smart City Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, held in mid-February with the slogan "A Better Life," and the Smart City Summit Expo (SCSE) in Taipei, Taiwan, in March with the slogan "Digital & Green Transformation." The Seoul Digital Foundation participated in these events to promote SLW and showcase Seoul's excellent digital policies.

The current government has set a global precedent with the declaration of the "Digital Bill of Rights" last year, establishing national standards and principles for digital environments. Seoul has also opened the world’s first “Metaverse Seoul Platform” in the public sector. By taking a leading role in "Smart Life," Seoul is positioning itself as a first mover.

The Seoul Smart City Center, operated by the foundation, serves as a hub for policy, startups, and citizens, featuring networking lounges, open labs, studios, exhibition zones, coworking spaces, global cooperation offices, and educational facilities. Over the past year and a half, more than 600 foreign visitors from 50 countries have visited the center, reflecting significant global interest in Seoul as a leading digital city.

Upcoming smart city-related events include SCA (Smart City Asia) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in April, and SCEWC USA (Smart City Expo World Congress, USA) in New York in May. The foundation will participate in SCA to promote SLW and present Seoul’s outstanding digital policies. In November, the foundation will participate in the SCEWC in Barcelona for the third time.

Numerous IT and smart city events are held worldwide each month, creating networking opportunities and insights that are critical for success. The new slogan, "Seoul My Soul," reflects the hope that under the autumn sky, the smart life will unite the hearts of people globally.

As Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, stated, “If we don’t rapidly innovate in the AI era, we risk falling behind. Over the past 40 years, we have created the PC, internet, mobile, cloud, and AI eras. Whatever we create, we must run, not walk.” In this era of digital intensification and smart cities, it is crucial to accelerate innovation in smart life to enhance citizens' happiness.

In this context, Seoul is focusing on advancing smart life initiatives. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon emphasized that Seoul should become an organization that actively utilizes cutting-edge scientific technologies like ChatGPT. On April 2, Seoul announced its AI activation strategy, a first for local governments, aimed at improving administrative service quality and expanding citizen-focused policies. The strategy includes 24/7 AI chatbots, AI-based crime prevention programs, and intelligent CCTV systems for crowd management.

The AI administration plan is based on three main strategies: establishing a trustworthy AI administrative foundation, creating an AI usage environment, and accelerating AI administrative innovation. Over the next three years (2024–2026), a total of 206.4 billion won will be invested to enhance citizens' lives. The Seoul Digital Foundation will be designated as the AI Technology Support Center to provide technical advice and consulting, further expanding and perfecting policies.

To encourage public officials to actively use AI in their work, the number of participants in "Generative AI for Productivity Improvement Training" will double to over 1,300. Training will include understanding AI, applying the latest technologies, sharing information about commercial software, and supporting fees for new AI technologies. A “Prompt Learning Club” will also be established to enhance members’ capabilities.

Various AI technologies, such as generative AI, CCTV object detection, and AI algorithm pattern recognition, will be actively used in administrative services to improve convenience and safety, and strengthen the city’s future competitiveness. The foundation is developing algorithms for tasks like detecting sewer line faults, monitoring building changes, and managing small-scale construction sites, saving time and costs while ensuring safety.

To promote public access, the foundation is developing the "Seoul Language Model" based on Meta’s open lightweight LLM (Large Language Model). This model is fine-tuned with data held by the foundation, aiming to support digital consultations for the elderly, assist Seoul's public officials and civil service with LLM services, and more, to be distributed later this year.

Kang Yo-sik  
President of Seoul Digital Foundation

Article Content

https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/view.php?key=20240117010011041&ref=search