On October 5, a forum titled 'AI & Digital Justice Movement Against Capital' was held in Seoul, where participants critically examined the underlying issues related to artificial intelligence (AI) amidst the convenience it provides. The session highlighted the growing concern about AI being positioned not as a tool for human progress but rather as a vehicle for capital exploitation. Attendees, including activists and experts, called for a dismantling of the glorified narrative surrounding AI, arguing that such discourse obscures the inherent issues like labor exploitation and resource extraction.

Significantly, speakers like Go Achim, who runs the AI Ethics Letter, criticized figures such as South Korea's President Lee Jae-myung for glorifying AI's role in the economy by comparing it to a 'giant wheel.' Go asserted that this narrative promotes a myth of inevitability that overestimates technology's benefits. He pointed out that agreements between major tech firms indicate that AI's purpose aligns more with generating profits than fostering societal progress, as highlighted by claims of AI systems generating massive profits.

The forum also presented an analysis of how big tech companies maintain exploitative structures that dominate the digital economy. Oh Byeong-il, head of the Digital Justice Network, provided examples of how companies like Google and Meta control over 50% of the global digital ad market and impose fees on app developers. He emphasized that such power dynamics cannot exist without collusion with state mechanisms and warned that the vast lobbying expenditures by these companies reflect their attempts to shape regulations in their favor. Oh called for a global standard for regulation to counteract the monopolistic practices present in the current tech landscape.