Source: Donga Science

Donga Science reports on the passage of the AI Basic Act from the perspective of South Korea's scientific and research community. The article, published on December 15, 2025, details how the new law impacts national research institutes (like KAIST and ETRI) by mandating ethical review boards for experiments involving generative AI and human subjects. It highlights the government's commitment to funding "Trustworthy AI" technologies to ensure that Korean innovations meet global safety standards.

The report also discusses the "Sandbox" provisions in the law, which allow researchers to test cutting-edge AI in a deregulated environment for a limited time to foster innovation. However, there is concern among scientists that the definition of "high-risk" AI is too broad and might inadvertently slow down benign computational biology or physics simulations. The article emphasizes the need for clear enforcement decrees to distinguish between commercial deployment and academic research.