The Science Ministry said on Monday that South Korea has become a founding member of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence(GPAI), which aims to ensure AI is used responsibly, respecting human rights and democratic values. 

The 15 founding members include the United States, the European Union, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Canada, India, Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore and Slovakia.

The ministry said these members issued a joint statement that they will support human-centric development and the use of AI with a focus on human rights, democratic values and civil rights. 

To that end, the members plan to bring together experts from industry, government, civil society and academia to set up and operate groups in four areas -- responsible AI, data governance, future work and innovation and commercialization.

The ministry said in the short term, the GPAI will form an expert group to find ways to utilize AI in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.