Korean cartoonists take demands for AI consent, copyright safeguards to UNESCO

Korean comic creators called for strict rules requiring artists' consent before their work is used to train artificial intelligence (AI) models, delivering their demand Friday during an international conference at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. The association’s president, Kwon Hyuk-joo, who is a webtoon artist and a professor at Kongju National University, spoke Tuesday at a conference titled “Promoting Human Creativity and the Diversity of Cultural Expressions in the Digital Environment.” Webtoons are digital comics designed to be read by scrolling on smartphones. They are a major Korean cultural export, and many have been adapted into TV dramas and films. Kwon appeared on a panel about developing AI systems that respect rights and cultural diversity. Alexandra Bensamoun, a professor at Paris-Saclay University, chaired the session, which also included representatives of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and Microsoft. Kwon cited a survey the association conducted. Of the 164 creators who responded, about 90 percent said they did not know how to stop their w