South Korean tech behemoth Naver plans to offer localized artificial intelligence (AI) applications on the international market to rival the universal ChatGPT-like models produced by Microsoft and Google, US media reported.
ChatGPT is short for Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer - a machine learning model capable of natural language generation (NLG), producing dialogue and human-like text such as articles and summaries.
Sovereign AI technology is being eyed amid growing concerns regarding US data controls, the report underscored. Accordingly, the online platform operated by Naver hopes to hawk its “tailored” versions of the AI model to foreign governments eager to dodge potential security risks.
Localization 'Key'
“This will be a massive business as sovereign AI technology is becoming increasingly important for data protection," Naver executive officer, Sung Nako, was cited as saying.
He added that some countries that have hesitated to place their trust in US cloud and AI systems might be less distrustful of the customized South Korean option.
“It is becoming like a new cold war as the US government now has the authority to look into data and information stored in American companies’ cloud systems,” Sung said.
Non-English speaking countries such as Mexico and Spain were singled out in the report as potential buyers. Furthermore, it was added that the South Korean Internet search engine would ostensibly offer a product with due consideration for political complexities in countries of the Arab world.
Sung claimed that the company could export Naver’s AI models at much lower prices than Western rivals. Naver has staunchly defended its dominant Internet search engine rank in South Korea, boasting a 61 percent market share, leaving rival Google with only 29 percent, as per Statista.
On the home scene, which Naver underscored it will still prioritize, it is planning to launch HyperClova X this summer. The hyperscale artificial intelligence platform is being touted as endowed with greater Korean language skills than its US rival, OpenAI's ChatGPT.
"Based on HyperClova, which has the third-largest Korean language training volume in the world and the first in Korea, we’ll unveil a HyperClova X service that is comparable to GPT-4 (the successor of ChatGPT),” Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon said in March.
The move was prompted by Google's choice of Korean and Japanese as the first foreign language services for its AI-based chatbot - Bard.
“Now, we are facing a bigger threat in our main market, with Google’s Bard,” said Sung Nako, adding:
“We are clearly focusing on Korea and Japan for now, but we are also eyeing more overseas markets as localization will be the key in the AI race.”
The ambitious plans to branch out onto the foreign market come as Naver recently signed an agreement to extend its expertise in building digital infrastructure for Saudi Arabia. Under the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed with the kingdom's Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Investment in March, Naver and its two affiliates - Naver Labs and Laver Cloud Corp. - signed up to develop digital platforms based on artificial intelligence and cloud technology.
As the battle for dominance in the AI race escalates, experts and tech gurus have been sounding the alarm, warning of the need to focus on how to safeguard against inherent risks. Previously, Elon Musk and a group of artificial intelligence experts and industry executives signed a letter calling for a six-month pause in the development of AI systems that are more advanced than GPT-4. According to the document, “AI systems with human-competitive intelligence can pose profound risks to society and humanity, as shown by extensive research and acknowledged by top AI labs.”