Kakao becomes the first Korean tech firm to join the AI Alliance, a global organization dedicated to AI ethics, the company said Friday. (Kakao Corp.)

Korean IT giant Kakao joined AI Alliance, the global open-source community dedicated to the responsible development of artificial intelligence, becoming the first Korean firm to do so, the company said Friday.

“We will work together with the AI Alliance to establish an open AI ecosystem meeting the global standard for the open, responsible and safe development of AI technology,” Kakao AI Safety Leader Kim Kyung-hoon said.

“We will take on the social responsibility as a digital tech firm, and make continuous efforts to strengthen AI ethics.”

Kakao has actively supported the ethical development of the rising technology, being the first Korean firm to announce its algorithm ethics in 2018. The company launched the industry's first tech ethics committee in July 2022 and released a report on technology ethics for the joint community in 2023. Kakao also operates a team dedicated to the value of AI ethics.

In joining the AI Alliance, Kakao said it will work to spread the global AI ethics standard in Korea, while also advocating for Korea's AI standards internationally. Newly introducing the Chief AI Officer position in the company, Kakao said it will also systematically push for new AI initiatives in the coming years.

The AI Alliance was first launched in December 2023, bringing leading developers, scientists, academic institutions, companies and other innovators, to accelerate responsible innovation in AI while ensuring scientific rigor, trust, safety, security, diversity, and economic competitiveness, according to the group.

With global tech giants IBM and Meta in the lead, the alliance started with 50 founding members and is continuously growing in size, with over 100 members as of this month. Prominent market leaders are joining the alliance, including AMD, Dell Technologies and Uber.

According to the organization, it also seeks to expand partnerships with important existing initiatives from governments as well as non-profit and civil society organizations that do valuable work in the AI space.

The alliance announced in February that it has launched AI Safety Tooling and AI Policy Working Groups in support of the organization's mission.