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The Institute for Future Strategy at Seoul National University, together with SBS, invites you to SBS D Forum (SDF) 2026.

This year’s SDF will be held under the theme “The Age of Substitute Intelligence and the Question of Cognitive Sovereignty.” With the emergence of agentic AI—systems that can make decisions and take action autonomously—artificial intelligence is now reaching beyond industry and national security to shape the choices and decisions we make in everyday life. The forum will be an opportunity to consider what we should entrust to AI and what we should preserve as uniquely human, what kind of relationship people and AI should have, and what form a new social order should take.

At this year’s SDF, Eliezer Yudkowsky, a pioneer in AI alignment research, will visit Korea for the first time to discuss the challenges facing humanity and Korea ahead of the age of superintelligence. He will also speak with Kim Dae-sik, professor at KAIST. Philip Koralus, founding director of the Institute for Human-Centered AI at the University of Oxford, will explore how to protect human autonomy and cognitive sovereignty in an era when thinking itself is outsourced. Experts from a range of fields will also share insights on safeguarding our sovereignty over thought and choice, and building a better society in the age of AI.

A research team from the Institute for Future Strategy at Seoul National University will assess AI’s impact on Korean society and present directions for designing the social systems needed in the age of substitute intelligence. The team includes Kang Won-taek, former director of the Institute for Future Strategy and professor emeritus in the Department of Political Science and International Relations; Cho Young-joon, professor in the Department of Economics; Lim Dong-kyun, professor in the Department of Sociology; and Park Hyun-woo, professor at the Graduate School of Data Science. They will present their findings and examine the changes AI may bring and the challenges our society needs to prepare for.

We look forward to your interest and participation in SDF 2026: “The Age of Substitute Intelligence and the Question of Cognitive Sovereignty.”

Date: Thursday, November 5, 2026
Venue: Art Hall 1, Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), Seoul
Online preregistration: Tuesday, October 6–Friday, October 30
Event information and registration: https://www.sdf.or.kr/2026/ko