Artificial intelligence is no longer simply a technological innovation; it has become a strategic factor capable of reshaping economic development, political influence, scientific progress, and even cultural representation across the world. As AI systems become increasingly integrated into everyday life, the question is no longer only who develops the most advanced models, but also whose values, languages, and perspectives those systems ultimately reflect. It is within this broader context that the United Nations' Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence released its first comprehensive report, warning that the current trajectory of AI development risks reinforcing existing global inequalities rather than…
In a recent interview, Geoffrey Hinton, recipient of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics for his pioneering contributions to artificial neural networks and machine learning, explained why he believes that advanced large language models such as ChatGPT-4 may already possess a form of consciousness. Coming from one of the founding figures of modern deep learning, this statement has attracted considerable attention throughout both the scientific community and the wider public. Although I have enormous admiration and respect for Hinton's scientific achievements, I believe that his conclusion deserves careful examination. In my view, today's language models demonstrate extraordinarily convincing simulations of…
The global debate on artificial intelligence (AI) governance often focuses on regulation. Governments discuss legal frameworks, compliance mechanisms, ethical principles, and risk management. Yet experience increasingly shows that governing AI involves far more than drafting legislation. It requires building institutions, developing public-sector expertise, creating coordination mechanisms, and establishing the operational capacity needed to oversee a technology that evolves faster than traditional policymaking processes. Spain’s recent experience offers a valuable case study in this regard. Over the past five years, the country has undertaken one of Europe’s most ambitious efforts to build a comprehensive AI governance ecosystem, combining strategic planning, institutional…
The transformation of a city into a Smart City never truly begins with the installation of sensors, the procurement of data platforms, or the deployment of artificial intelligence systems, however advanced and sophisticated these technological instruments may appear. It begins, rather, with a far deeper and more consequential act: the formulation of a strategic vision capable of imagining what kind of city must emerge in response to the structural pressures of the twenty-first century. Demographic growth, climate change, congestion, energy dependency, housing stress, environmental degradation, and rising citizen expectations all converge to create a context in which traditional urban management…
South Korea is accelerating its global urban innovation strategy through a new series of pilot projects that will test artificial intelligence-driven smart city technologies across five countries in Southeast Asia, in what represents one of the most significant examples of technology-enabled urban diplomacy and international urban cooperation in recent years. Announced by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), this initiative forms part of the K-City Network 2026 program, a government-backed framework designed not only to export Korean technological capabilities but also to position South Korea as a strategic global partner in the transformation of rapidly urbanizing cities. This…
The transformation of a city into a Smart City cannot be understood merely as the modernization of roads, utilities, or public services through digital technologies. Rather, it must be interpreted as a profound reconfiguration of governance itself, in which data ceases to be a passive by-product of administrative activity and becomes the central intelligence layer through which the city is observed, interpreted, and managed. What truly distinguishes a Smart City from a digitally equipped city is not the presence of sensors or dashboards, but the existence of a governance model capable of converting information into foresight, coordination, and evidence-based action.…
In contemporary urban environments, where population density, infrastructure complexity, and interdependence of services continue to increase, the ability to detect and respond to emergencies in real time has become a defining capability of advanced cities. Fires, floods, traffic collisions, industrial accidents, and infrastructure failures no longer represent isolated events but systemic disruptions with cascading effects across transportation networks, energy grids, healthcare systems, and public safety services. Traditional emergency response models, largely dependent on manual reporting, human observation, and sequential communication between agencies, struggle to operate at the speed and scale demanded by modern cities. Within this context, artificial intelligence has…
