![\"German](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/news-p.v1.20251121.f45bbb42612c41fbb61daed70cababd2_P1.jpg\")
German Ambassador to Korea Georg Schmidt (right) and German AI expert Kinga Schumacher speak during an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on Wednesday. (Lee Jung-hwan, German Embassy Seoul) <\/p>\n German Ambassador to Korea Georg Schmidt (right) and German AI expert Kinga Schumacher speak during an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on Wednesday. (Lee Jung-hwan, German Embassy Seoul) <\/p>\n
As artificial intelligence continues to evolve at unprecedented speed, experts from Germany and Korea are urging democratic nations to deepen cooperation to ensure AI is developed in ways that uphold human dignity, civil liberties and the rule of law.<\/p>\n
Speaking on the sidelines of the German Innovation Days \u2014 an initiative hosted by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Seoul and The Korea Herald publisher Herald Media Group \u2014 German Ambassador to Korea Georg Schmidt and AI ethics expert Kinga Schumacher emphasized that innovation must remain firmly rooted in democratic accountability and shared values.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe both profited very much from the way world trade was shaped. But this world order is being fundamentally challenged,\u201d said Schmidt, referencing disruptions brought about by Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine and rising US-China technology tensions.<\/p>\n
Human-centered AI: Democratic imperative<\/p>\n
A central theme of this year\u2019s German Innovation Days is how countries like Germany and Korea \u2014 both technologically advanced democracies \u2014 can foster human-centered AI while preserving the principles that define open societies.<\/p>\n
\u201cKorea and Germany must and will protect the interests of the citizens,\u201d the ambassador said. “So it should be AI, it should be human-centered.”<\/p>\n
Schmidt noted differences in how the two nations publicly discuss AI. While Korea tends to emphasize the opportunities and economic potential of the technology, Germany focuses more on its societal risks \u2014 including misinformation, deepfakes and impacts on child development.<\/p>\n
Schumacher, known for her work on inclusive AI, suggested that Germany\u2019s tradition of user-centered, participative design could offer a valuable reference point for Korea\u2019s fast-moving AI sector.<\/p>\n
\u201cKorea makes it possible to have fast growth in AI. While Korea might look deeper into how we are doing user-centered, participative design,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She emphasized the importance of involving stakeholders from the earliest design stages \u2014 a process that may initially slow development, but enhances long-term trust, usability and social impact.<\/p>\n
Complementary strengths: Data, design, agility<\/p>\n
While Germany and Korea differ in their approach to AI, the two countries bring complementary strengths that could power future cooperation.<\/p>\n
\u201cKorea has much more data than Germany. We might have a bit more experience with AI applications,\u201d said Schumacher. \u201cPutting those two together, everybody could benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schmidt echoed this point, citing Korea\u2019s openness to experimentation and rapid adoption of emerging technologies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a greater openness for new things in everyday life in this country. Maybe we need a bit of the Korean sense of like, hey, just try it. And maybe Korea needs a little bit of, ‘hey, be careful and check out what’s happening.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Germany\u2019s AI ecosystem traditionally centers on industrial applications \u2014 such as smart manufacturing, robotics and precision engineering \u2014 while Korea leverages its strong digital infrastructure and vast data pools to drive consumer-facing innovations.<\/p>\n
![\"(German](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/news-p.v1.20251121.9c65e8c62416472fa75fc97ad60a32ba_P1.jpg\")
(German Embassy Seoul) <\/p>\n
Designing AI for aging society<\/p>\n
According to Statistics Korea, Korea is one of the fastest-aging societies among member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, with over 20 percent of its population expected to be aged 65 or older as of this year. In light of this demographic shift, the interviewees highlighted the role AI could play in supporting senior citizens.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe definitely should have participative design and user-centered design to ensure that the services really benefit the elderly,\u201d said Schumacher.<\/p>\n
She added that AI should not replace human caregivers, but instead free up their time to provide meaningful emotional support. \u201cFree up more time to talk to people who are too lonely,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Her remarks reflect growing global efforts to apply AI in elderly care \u2014 from voice assistants to personalized health care tools \u2014 provided they are designed with empathy, accessibility and trust in mind.<\/p>\n
Both interviewees agreed that widespread AI literacy is essential to help people better understand, evaluate and safely interact with intelligent systems.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should learn in schools that this is what AI can do, this is what it cannot do,\u201d said Schmidt, warning of overreliance on systems trained on biased or incomplete data.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is very important that we understand how to interpret the results of the system and how to integrate them in our daily lives,\u201d said Schumacher. \u201cBasically, understanding means you can prepare yourself; you can prepare society.\u201d<\/p>\n
Their comments align with international efforts such as the OECD AI Principles \u2014 endorsed by over 40 countries \u2014 which emphasize fairness, transparency and human oversight in the development and use of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n
These principles, along with the EU AI Act currently under discussion, aim to ensure that AI systems, particularly those used in public services or high-risk domains, remain accountable and aligned with democratic values.<\/p>\n
Innovation must serve people<\/p>\n
Reflecting on the broader purpose of German Innovation Days, both Schmidt and Schumacher emphasized that the value of technology lies not only in efficiency or competitiveness, but in its contribution to human well-being.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should never just do technology for the sake of technology,\u201d said Schmidt. \u201cWe should always reflect: Does it make my life better?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody who is making decisions that might impact other people can do something to make AI systems more social, less discriminatory. You don’t need to be a developer,\u201d Schumacher added, calling for broader participation in shaping AI systems and their environments.<\/p>\n
As Germany and Korea look to the future, both nations appear aligned in one clear message \u2014 progress must be human-centered \u2014 by design.<\/p>\n
yeeun@heraldcorp.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"German Ambassador to Korea Georg Schmidt (right) and German AI expert Kinga Schumacher speak during an interview with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":588228,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5310],"tags":[15842,2000,299,1824,7299,15839,15838,31766,15840,15841,15837,15844,15845,15843],"class_list":["post-588227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-germany","tag-asia-news","tag-eu","tag-europe","tag-germany","tag-k-pop","tag-koreaherald","tag-korean-news","tag-kpop","tag-south-korea-news","tag-south-korea-news-in-english","tag-the-korea-herald","tag-15844","tag-15845","tag-15843"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115597582020187358","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=588227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588227\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/588228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=588227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=588227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=588227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}