Ernest AI (CEO Sanghoon Seo) has been selected as the lead research institute for the '2025 Human-Oriented Next-Generation Challenge-Type AI Technology Development Project' hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Institute for Information and Communications Technology Planning and Evaluation (IITP).
This project is a nationally-led research and development (R&D) initiative aimed at overcoming the limitations of existing AI technology, securing core source technologies for general-purpose AI capable of adapting to new environments and growing autonomously, like humans. The Honest AI Consortium will receive up to 40.15 billion won in R&D funding through 2028.
Through this project, Honest AI aims to develop AGI core technology capable of understanding and inferring the logical causal relationships behind data, moving beyond existing AI that merely memorizes correlations within data. The core research topic is "Development of AGI core technology based on dynamic causal inference," a next-generation AI technology that enables root cause analysis and hypothetical scenario inference. Specifically, the goal is to develop AI capable of making logical decisions even in novel situations not found in past data, such as unpredictable economic crises or new financial frauds.
This project is attracting industry attention because it shifts core technology research, previously led by universities and national research institutes, to a company with numerous clients in the financial industry. This shift is expected to have a tangible impact on the financial industry as a whole, with the research results being immediately applied to practical applications.
The research will be overseen by Shin Yoon-je, Director of the Ernest AI AI Research Lab, and will be conducted jointly by a consortium with Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) and Sungkyunkwan University. Starting in the second year, Seoul National University will also participate, further enhancing the research's expertise and depth.
Honest AI plans to apply the acquired core technology to its "AI Model Factory" to develop AI models applicable to various financial sectors, including credit ratings, marketing, and fraud and fraud detection (FDS). Furthermore, based on its business agreement with KT, Honest AI plans to accelerate its penetration of the enterprise AI transformation (AX) market by applying next-generation AI technologies to enhance its finance-specific AI platform.
Seo Sang-hoon, CEO of Ernest AI, said, “This project is a challenge that goes beyond improving AI’s prediction accuracy to fundamentally innovating its operating principles.” He added, “By collaborating with the best researchers from industry and academia, we can answer the question ‘why’ ourselves, and we will contribute to the development of AI technology in Korea by presenting a trustworthy AI partner even in crisis situations.”
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