Artificial intelligence as social gas: South Korea launches large-scale social experiment

South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT has selected three consortiums led by SK Telecom, KT and Kakao to launch a nationwide free artificial intelligence service program, as the government aims to transform artificial intelligence into basic social infrastructure for every citizen.

The authority will provide the hardware technology alliance, allocate a total of 512 modern Nvidia B200 graphics chips, and bear the operating costs starting next year. Under the terms of the agreement, the neural network’s basic functionality will always remain free, even if the actual load exceeds state payment limits. Participants in the selection commit to integrating at least fifty percent of the domestic foundation model into each system.

Each tech giant has chosen its own strategy to attract audiences through interfaces familiar to citizens. SK Telecom will integrate artificial intelligence into mobile calls and text messages, and Kakao Corporation is using the most popular KakaoTalk instant messaging tool for direct payments and bookings. The KT operator will focus on integrating search engines, media resources and home IPTV set-top boxes into a digital ecosystem.

For American companies like OpenAI, which dominate the local market through paid subscriptions, such a move is a complete game changer. South Korea’s approach relies on the forced integration of sovereign technology into everyday communication interfaces, allowing the collection of vast amounts of user data in the country. At the same time, the commercialization of services will be based on the analysis of requests and the monetization of additional options by the telecom operators themselves.

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