The first major international event under the new South Korean administration, the two-day 2025 APEC Summit, came to an end with the leaders adopting the Gyeongju declaration. The declaration underscored the need to build the world’s most dynamic and interconnected regional economy. Along with the new Collaborative Framework for Demographic Changes, the APEC Artificial Intelligence Initiative (2026-2030) was also proposed. The initiative recognizes the growing role of AI in the regional economy and the need to address challenges in the evolving digital landscape.
Throughout the text, the AI Initiative repeatedly emphasizes the resilience of infrastructure, capacity building, and the role of the private sector – the set of issues a diverse group of actors could get on board with and the direction for potential cooperation in the future. The initiative specifically addresses the need to integrate local knowledge, culture, and languages in AI innovation as well. It is a necessary provision considering AI models are often suspect of bias toward English-speaking Western countries. It also calls for bridging the digital and AI divide between regional economies, a pledge echoed by SK Group
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