Prime Minister Han Duck-soo delivers an opening remark at the Global AI Forum at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Ministry of Science and ICT

Google, OpenAI, Microsoft, Samsung Electronics, SK Telecom and other global AI-related companies vowed Wednesday to ensure the safe and sustainable development of AI.

At the Global AI Forum, a side event of the AI Seoul Summit held on Tuesday, the companies announced the Seoul AI Business Pledge and agreed to promote diversity and inclusion so that everyone in the world can benefit equally from AI technology.

"Safety, innovation, and inclusion are the priority themes of the AI Seoul Summit and the Global AI Forum and they are closely interconnected," Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said during an opening speech of the event at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology. "Safety is a crucial factor determining sustainability in the global market."

The Seoul pledge was jointly made by 14 companies — Samsung Electronics, LG AI Research, SK Telecom, KT, Naver, Kakao, Google, OpenAI, Microsoft, IBM, Anthropic, Adobe, Cohere and Salesforce.

"The Seoul AI Business Pledge is a voluntary commitment from domestic and overseas tech companies to pursue responsible AI development and benefit-sharing," Lee Jong-ho, minister of science and ICT, said. "We will strengthen cooperation with AI safety research institutes for responsible AI development and use."

The ICT minister also mentioned that AI companies agreed to implement measures to identify AI-generated content with watermarks and strengthen cooperation for developing international standards.

They also promised to share best practices for safety frameworks and reduce the use of AI-generated content to prevent the spread of misinformation that threatens democracy.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, front row center, applauds with other participants, including Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul, front row fourth from right, and Minister of Science and ICT Lee Jong-ho, front row fourth from left, during the Global AI Forum at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

The pledge aligns with the Frontier AI Safety Commitments agreed upon by 16 organizations at the AI Seoul Summit on Tuesday.

These commitments state that companies will not develop highly advanced AI that cannot be controlled by humans if they cannot mitigate the risks.

Unlike the AI Safety Summit held in the United Kingdom last November, the Seoul summit and the forum presented innovation and inclusion as new goals, aiming to spread the message that developing AI services in a way that leaves no one behind should be a global goal.

In line with this scheme, Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong announced Tuesday at the summit that the company would participate in the international community's efforts to create safe, innovative and inclusive AI.

"AI is not just about industry disruption or economic growth. It is about fundamentally reshaping how we live, work and interact with the world," the executive chairman said via video. "We see a very unique opportunity to leverage this technology for good, but it is also essential that we do it responsibly. As we progress in innovation, minimizing the misuse and maximizing the benefits of AI must be a global conversation."

Saying that one of Samsung's core values is "moving humanity forward through technology," the Samsung chief emphasized that the company's technology and products would enable humanity to enjoy the benefits of AI.