By Lee Kyung-min
KAIST President Lee Kwang-hyung / Korea Times file
Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) President Lee Kwang-hyung will deliver a keynote speech at an international forum in Seoul, Friday, the Daejeon-based university said Thursday.
The academic event is the latest joint initiative between KAIST and New York University, a month after the two opened a joint campus in New York City in September.
"Friday's forum will provide a meaningful opportunity to recognize timely changes of the new era where digital technology, government platforms and public data are emerging as effective media that can create social and economic value," Lee said.
"The forum organized jointly by KAIST and NYU ― two global leaders in innovative cooperation ― will help advance the future of cooperative governance that generates positive influences with governments, private firms, civil society, academia and international organizations."
Lee will stress the importance of global efforts to navigate the challenges of escalating hegemony-oriented feuds over digital and smart technologies at the KAIST-NYU Digital Governance Forum at the Seoul Press Foundation.
New York University President Andrew D. Hamilton will give a speech virtually, followed by academic sessions led by S. Matthew Liao, an American philosopher specializing in bioethics and normative ethics. The NYU professor is internationally known for his work on topics including children's rights and human rights, novel reproductive technologies, neuroethics and the ethics of artificial intelligence.
Jason Allford, the World Bank Group's special representative at its Korea office, will discuss global governance and global development strategies, as implemented by international organizations.
Park Kyung-ryul, assistant professor at the KAIST Graduate School of Science, Technology and Policy, will touch on ways to advance a more inclusive digital transformation.
He will emphasize that the new governance should seek a harmony of stakeholders with varying interests, a goal that should transcend the current discussion largely limited to progress on technological innovation.
The forum will be broadcast live on YouTube at 9:30 a.m.
