S. Korea to set new standards and guidelines on copyrights of AI-generated content

[Gettyimages Bank]

SEOUL -- In an effort to minimize public confusion and disputes over intellectual property rights of artificial intelligence-generated content, the South Korean government will set new standards and guidelines on content generated based on machine-learned data by September 2023. The government's action was taken swiftly after President Yoon Suk-yeol urged related administrative bodies to come up with new guidelines and orders that will be ideal for the future digital age.
 
Thanks to the accelerated development of public AI-generated content services, people who are unskilled in drawing or writing can generate superb-looking images or interesting text content by just typing in some keywords and clicking through presets that are already prepared by service operators. AI robots are extremely skilled in drawing two-dimensional pictures and worried discussions over the commercial usage of AI-generated content are constantly taking place among web-comics artists who feel threatened by the magical one-stop content generation services.
 
President Yoon hosted a cabinet meeting on May 2 and said: "We must create new norms and orders that fit the digital age. To ensure the legitimacy and sustainability of the digital order, it is necessary to maximize the freedom and welfare of global citizens, and to guarantee fair opportunities." Yoon added that a government-level action will be taken to set new guidelines for digital rights which will be publicly announced in September in the form of a constitutional provision, not as a mandatory law.
 
The Ministry of Science and ICT said controversial issues in sectors such as the social, cultural, and economic sectors, are triggered by technological advancements like AI-based chatbots. Although the social issues faced by ordinary citizens will house very complicated characteristics but no guidelines are present, according to the science ministry.
 
The science ministry listed the following in-depth digital issues as representative examples: the act of copyright and personal data infringement by machine-learned AI, recognition of intellectual property rights for AI-generated content, the credibility of AI's ability to evaluate, medical acts by AI robots, taxation on economic activities in virtual spaces and counteraction to criminal acts, liability and compensation system in the event of an accident during autonomous driving without driver intervention.
 
To encourage citizens' participation in the establishment of new digital guidelines, the government will set up events where people can freely share ideas and speak and engage in discussions. The guidelines will be reviewed annually to maintain their efficacy.