National Research Foundation of Korea President Hong Won-hwa signs the organization's AI ethics principles declaration. [National Research Foundation of Korea]
National Research Foundation of Korea President Hong Won-hwa signs the organization's AI ethics principles declaration. [National Research Foundation of Korea]

The National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) held a ceremony Monday to formally adopt its "NRF AI Ethics Principles," announcing seven guidelines that staff must follow in developing and using AI.

The principles were drawn up to apply the recently enacted AI Basic Act and the "Republic of Korea AI Ethics Principles," adopted last month, specifically to the NRF's research management operations.

The foundation determined that expanding AI use to improve the efficiency and expertise of research support must go hand in hand with ensuring fairness, accountability and transparency.

The seven principles are human-centeredness, privacy protection, fairness and inclusiveness, accountability, safety, reliability and transparency.

The guidelines call on staff to develop and use AI fairly and safely, carefully review AI-generated outputs, and take clear responsibility for final decisions. They also require the protection of personal data and mandate that researchers be transparently informed whenever AI is used in work that affects them.

The NRF plans to publish the ethics principles on its website and apply them to staff education and day-to-day operations. In August, it became the first research management institution to receive the "AI Ethics Compliance Organization" certification from the National Information Society Agency (NIA).

"Responsibly using AI in research management is no longer a choice — it is an obvious duty for any public institution," NRF President Hong Won-hwa said. "We will keep these seven commitments and build an AI-based research management system that researchers and the public can trust."


nbgkoo@heraldcorp.com