The global AI conference 'AICON: artificial intelligence congress' opened at the Kim Dae Jung Convention Center in Gwangju on the 16th (Thurs) and was held for three days until the 18th (Sat). This conference was organized by the Artificial Intelligence Industry Cluster Agency (AICA) and was sponsored by the Ministry of Science and ICT (hereinafter referred to as the MSIT), the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA) and Gwangju Metropolitan City.

At the opening ceremony on the 16th, Gwangju Mayor Yong-seop Lee, National Assembly member Yong-bin Lee, Gwangju City Superintendent Hwi-guk Jang, MSIT Director General Je-myung Ryu, and Economic Development Center Osceola County Florida Director Hunter Kim attended and agreed that Gwangju should prepare to lead the artificial intelligence industry.

Director General of the MSIT Je-myung Ryu said, "At this AICON event, various outcomes of the national artificial intelligence cluster development project promoted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and Gwangju City will be presented. The citizens can experience firsthand around 50 product exhibitions. Also, there will be investment promotion events and business agreement ceremonies with companies hosted by Gwangju City that will be held in a variety of ways,” he said.

He continued, "The government is continuing the challenge to become an artificial intelligence powerhouse while promoting the Digital New Deal. Based on this, we will achieve the development of artificial intelligence technology in a way that citizens and companies alike can experience it. A budget of 400 billion won will invested in Gwangju every year, cultivating it to become a battleground that will leap forward to become an artificial intelligence powerhouse. The MSIT, together with Gwangju City, will systematically prepare for the second phase of the project to be carried out until 2029 based on the first phase that will be carried out until 2024, so as to help Gwangju become a global artificial intelligence center.”

Gwangju Metropolitan City Mayor Yong-seop Lee said, "We prepared various programs for you to experience artificial intelligence at this event. I hope it will be an opportunity to share the global technological trend of AI and explore the development of AI-based industries. Now, products and services can be competitive only when combined with artificial intelligence and AI will be responsible for future employment and income.”

Mayor Lee continued, "Currently, Gwangju has established itself as the first city that comes to mind when talking about 'artificial intelligence'. We have signed MOUs with 122 AI companies, 95 companies have set up their nests in Gwangju, and business agreements have been signed with 11 AI companies. Also, the city is entering the top 10 in the world and is building a data center with a supercomputing system. We will do our best to make AICON a world-class AI conference.”

Visitors who participated in the event were able to learn about AI technology trends through lectures delivered by over 30 speakers from 7 countries that are AI powerhouses. They were also able to see cases where artificial intelligence was applied to industrial convergence. In addition, various programs have been prepared to experience artificial intelligence technology closely related to daily life, including a virtual space conference hall using Metaverse, and buyer consultations and job fairs held in the business room.

Democratic Party Assemblyman Yong-bin Lee said, "Everyone agrees that artificial intelligence is a new breakthrough as a growth engine. The government is actively implementing AI nurturing policies and providing a lot of support. I believe the reason why Gwangju was able to become an AI innovation city is thanks to its innate leadership. We will create an environment so that not only the Gwangju youth but also the Korean youth can come to Gwangju and help solve societal problems, such as wealth disparity and low birthrate, with artificial intelligence."

In addition, Gwangju City Council Vice-Chairman Soon-ae Jeong and Economic Development Center Osceola County Florida Director Hunter Kim took the stage to congratulate the AICON event.

On the other hand, the global media channel Aving News conducted a live broadcast of the global AI conference 'AICON Gwangju 2021' on the 16th (Thurs).

During the 'AICON Gwangju 2021 LIVE', reporter Alexandra Stepheson introduced the main products of participating companies in English and Korean. Even after the exhibition is over, edited video content is produced for each exhibitor and posted on the official YouTube channel of the exhibition where exhibitors are free to use it after.

'AICON Gwangju 2021', sponsored by the the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA) and Gwangju Metropolitan City and organized by the Artificial Intelligence Industry Cluster Agency (AICA), under the theme of 'AI of the world, in this shining place', examined AI technology trends and presented directions for the role of AI in the process of industrial convergence.

→ Go to AICON Gwangju 2021 News Special Page