Government Office For Science
From 29 September to 7 October, the Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA) Professor Dame Angela McLean visited Japan and Korea where she met with representatives from various ministries, institutions and companies, and took part in discussions on AI and research to gain a greater understanding of the science and tech landscape in both countries.
In Japan, the GCSA attended the Science and Technology in Society (STS) Forum in Kyoto. She highlighted the importance of an international approach to AI governance and the UKs leading role.
Speaking at the STS Forum, she said:
I am very excited by frontier AI: by the prospect of cures for diseases that have confounded medical researchers for years; the opportunities to deliver better public services more cheaply; its role in the invention of greener products and more sustainable farming methods; how it could allow humans to abandon menial tasks in favour of more creative and stimulating work.
Among other engagements during her visit to Japan, the Government Chief Scientific Adviser also had the opportunity to meet representatives from ministries and research and development institutions, take part in a round-table discussion with some of her international counterparts, visit Tokyos Ochanomizu University Girls Senior High School, and discuss her role in a conversation with Dr Kazuhito Hashimoto, President of the Japan Science and Technology Agency and Science and Technology Advisor to the Cabinet of Japan.
During her visit to the Republic of Korea, the GCSA met with representatives of the countrys Ministries of Science and ICT, Trade, Industry and Energy, and Foreign Affairs, with whom she spoke about the wide-ranging UK-ROK cooperation, including on digital, and the preparations for the upcoming state visit to the UK of Koreas President, Yoon Suk Yeol.
Dame Angela also discussed the potential for UK-ROK cooperation with ROK institutions, hosted a round-table discussion with a group of Korean experts and representatives of the countrys technology companies, spoke with the representatives of two of the largest UK companies in South Korea GSK and AstraZeneca and toured Samsungs Pyeongtaek Campus, to