South Korea trumpets 860-million AI fund after AlphaGo 'shock'

The Go contest between Lee Sedol and AlphaGo, Google DeepMind's Go-playing computer program, was broadcast across South Korea. Scrambling to respond to the success of Google DeepMind's world-beating Go program AlphaGo, South Korea announced on 17 March that it would invest 863 million (1 trillion won) in artificial-intelligence (AI) research over the next five years. It is not immediately clear whether the cash represents new funding, or had been previously allocated to AI efforts. But it does include the founding of a high-profile, public–private research centre with participation from several Korean conglomerates, including Samsung, LG Electronics and Hyundai Motor, as well as the technology firm Naver, based near Seoul. "Thanks to the'AlphaGo shock', we have learned the importance of AI before it is too late" The timing of the announcement indicates the impact in South Korea of AlphaGo, which two days earlier wrapped up a 4–1 victory over grandmaster Lee Sedol in an exhibition match in Seoul.