Seoul: South Korea's data ministry on Tuesday hosted a workshop with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to discuss ways to better utilize artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The Ministry of Data and Statistics kicked off the three-day event, bringing together around 80 data experts from 25 countries in the Asia-Pacific region to discuss ways to produce, manage and utilize data through AI.

According to Yonhap News Agency, participants at the workshop shared ideas on harnessing statistics in the AI era through the Statistical Data and Metadata eXchange (SDMX), a global standard that allows different systems to exchange data using standardized formats. Vice Data Minister Lee Myoung-ho, in his opening remarks, emphasized that in the AI era, the competitiveness of data depends not on its volume but on whether it is AI-friendly, allowing AI to understand the meaning and context of the figures.

Lee further expressed hope that through the workshop, different countries could share their experiences and challenges, discovering new opportunities for governments and people to better utilize data. The ministry also pledged to expand cooperation with the OECD, the ADB, and other international organizations on data and statistics while responding to changes in global data standards in the AI era.