Anchor: The third Summit for Democracy has kicked off in Seoul. On the first day of the three-day summit on Monday, the ministerial conference was held under the theme of “AI, digital technologies and democracy” following the opening ceremony. Under the theme, "democracy for future generations,” participants are discussing how to ensure the emergence of AI can be used for the promotion of democracy.
Kim Bum-soo reports. 
 
Report: The third Summit for Democracy is under way in South Korea, with a primary focus on fostering democracy for future generations.
 
In his opening speech, President Yoon Suk Yeol urged participants to pool their wisdom as the interplay of AI and digital technologies presents both opportunities and challenges.
 
[Sound bite: President Yoon Suk Yeol (Korean-English)]
"Stemming from AI and digital technologies, fake news and false information are infringing on our freedom and human rights and are threatening our democratic institutions. And the digital divide is widening the economic gaps and it in turn worsens the democratic gaps. With a sense of duty at this juncture, we must share our experiences and pool our wisdom in order to ensure AI and new digital technologies contribute to democracy and safeguard individuals and societies."
 
Top officials from some 30 countries, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, delivered remarks during the conference, followed by a roundtable involving some 20 speakers from home and abroad. 

[Sound bite: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken]
"Our democracies are hardly immune to the harms from AI misuse and failure, including impacts from the choices that tech companies make in deploying their innovations – from our citizens being able to access fewer and less diverse media sources because of the failures of AI-enabled search engines, to discrimination and bias that disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minorities."
 
Led by Washington, the Summit for Democracy is a global forum aimed at strengthening cooperation among democratic states against challenges posed by rising authoritarianism.
 
South Korea is the first solo host of the Washington-led summit outside of the United States.

The highlight of this year’s summit is Wednesday’s plenary session in which global leaders will attend virtually.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.