Google DeepMind to Open AI Campus in Seoul

Seoul, South Korea - Google DeepMind will establish an artificial intelligence research campus in Seoul by the end of the year, following an agreement reached Monday between Chief Executive Demis Hassabis and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung. 

The facility will be the company's first AI campus outside the United Kingdom.

South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT signed a memorandum of understanding with Google DeepMind during the meeting at the presidential office. 

Under the agreement, DeepMind will send at least 10 researchers to South Korea to collaborate on the government's "K-Moonshot Project," a research initiative focused on biotechnology, climate forecasting, and future energy.

Blue House Policy Director Kim Yong-beom said Hassabis projected that artificial general intelligence — systems capable of matching human cognitive abilities — could emerge within five years, as early as 2030. 

Hassabis said the societal shifts that followed would likely surpass those of the Industrial Revolution, and emphasized his focus on applying AI to scientific discovery, material development, and disease treatment.

The discussions also addressed AI safety and labor displacement. On the risks of malicious use and autonomous AI decision-making, Hassabis advocated for security measures integrated at the design stage and the establishment of minimum global guidelines. 

Noting the difficulty of forming international norms amid US-China technology competition, he proposed a collaborative framework involving South Korea, the United Kingdom, and Singapore.

On economic impacts, President Lee raised the concept of universal basic income as a response to AI-driven automation. 

Hassabis agreed that new economic models would be necessary, suggesting that governments may need to provide basic services — including housing, education, transportation, and healthcare — while supporting workers displaced by automated systems.

The meeting follows talks President Lee held late last year with executives from OpenAI, Nvidia, and SoftBank on domestic AI infrastructure development. 

Hassabis, who received the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the AlphaFold protein structure prediction model, gave Lee a Go board signed by himself and former champion Lee Sedol, marking the 2016 AlphaGo match held in Seoul.