Prof. Deguchi and Dr. Takagi speak at symposium celebrating establishment of KAIST AI philosophy research center

The symposium was held at the Academic Cultural Center on KAIST’s Daejeon Campus in Daejeon, South Korea, with about 100 participants in attendance. Speaking about the background of the Center’s establishment, President Lee emphasized that he had been discussing it for several years, driven by the belief that “how to remodel the humanities” is a crucial question — and that “without a ‘doorway’ provided by the humanities and social sciences, science and technology would lose its direction.” He added that when he heard the Kyoto Institute of Philosophy had been established in Japan, he “felt encouraged,” thinking, “Then perhaps we can do it too,” and said that this is how KAIST has come this far.

Professor Deguchi delivered the keynote remotely. Centering on KIP’s proposal of a “Multilayered Society of Values,” he discussed fundamental challenges that advances in AI and robotics pose to society. He also explained the “fellowship model,” which frames not only humans but also AI and robots as part of “WE,” and said that such proposals should come from East Asian societies such as Japan and Korea. In the Q&A, participants discussed the strengthening of individualism in contemporary society and the mutual importance of the “I” and the “WE,” and Professor Deguchi referred to concrete measures such as introducing values education in primary schooling.

Meanwhile, Dr. Takagi joined the panel discussion alongside Professor Hyundeuk Cheon of Seoul National University and Professor Chan-Kyu Lee of Chung-Ang University. The panel exchanged views on technological developments in AI and robotics and agreed that responding to these developments requires not only interdisciplinary research but also cross-sector collaboration that includes industry partnerships.

The symposium also featured a talk titled “Why Does AI Need Philosophy?” by Dr. Hyeeyoung Kim, an associate researcher at the Husserl Archives of the École Normale Supérieure (Paris), who also attended the first Kyoto Conference. It also included a presentation from a robotics perspective by Professor Jong Kim, Head of KAIST’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. Across the program, participants exchanged perspectives from both the humanities and social sciences and engineering.