North Korea Develops AI And Machine Learning For Various Goals, Including COVID-19 Responses And War Simulations

North Korea is developing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning for various purposes. (photo: dock. pexels)

JAKARTA - According to a recent study, North Korea is developing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning for various purposes. Starting from how to respond to COVID-19 and protecting nuclear reactors to war simulations and government surveillance.

The international sanctions imposed on its nuclear weapons program may have hampered North Korea's efforts to acquire AI hardware, but the country appears to be pursuing the latest technology, study author Hyuk Kim wrote, of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) in California.

"North Korea's latest efforts in AI/ML development show strategic investment to strengthen its digital economy," Kim wrote in a report citing open source information including state media and journals, published Tuesday, January 23 by project 38 North.

Some North Korean AI researchers have collaborated with foreign scholars, including in China, according to the report's findings.

According to the report North Korea established the Institute of Artificial Intelligence Research in 2013, and in recent years, several companies have promoted commercial products featuring AI.

So far, communication technology has been severely restricted and monitored in authoritarian North Korea. "During the COVID-19 pandemic, North Korea used AI to create the right model of evaluating the use of masks and prioritizing indicators of clinical symptoms of infection," Kim said in the report.

North Korean scientists have also published research on the use of AI to keep nuclear reactors safe, the report added.

The UN nuclear watchdog and independent experts said last month that the new reactor at North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear complex appeared to be operating for the first time, meaning another potential source of plutonium for nuclear weapons.

AI development poses many challenges, wrote Kim. "For example, North Korea's efforts in the war simulation program using (machine learning) reveal the intention to better understand the operational environment against potential opponents."

"In addition, North Korea's ongoing collaboration with foreign scholars raises concerns about the sanctions regime," he wrote.