[ROUNDTABLE] Korea's blueprint: Become indispensable player in AI world

As the United States and China race to dominate artificial intelligence (AI), Korea should focus on making itself indispensable to the two superpowers rather than simply trying to catch up in the development of cutting-edge technologies, experts said during The Korea Times roundtable “Beyond US-China AI race: Korea's strategic edge." They suggested that Korea could secure a unique position in the global AI landscape by leveraging its manufacturing capabilities, industrial know-how and advanced semiconductor supply chain, as well as building AI infrastructure that would deepen its strategic importance to the U.S. and its allies. Lee Do-kyung, founder and CEO of Bone AI, proposed developing Korea into a “forward-deployed industrial base” for the U.S. and its allies, combining American technologies with Korea's manufacturing capabilities to produce, deploy and maintain AI-powered systems in the Indo-Pacific region. “Even if a single motor breaks down, a drone cannot operate, and sourcing new parts from the U.S. mainland can take three to four months by sea,” Lee said. “The U.S.