Book

Institute for Future Strategy – Future of Science and Technology Cluster
“Grand Quest 2024: Asking the Questions That Will Shape the Future of Korean Science, Technology, and Industry”

As generative artificial intelligence reshapes human capabilities and reorganises the roles of society, science and technology are transforming the world at a pace never before imagined. The coming era will evolve even faster than what Moore’s Law predicts. Faced with this unprecedented acceleration, we must ask: How should we confront tomorrow? and What must Korea’s industries prepare for?

In response to these questions, the Future of Science and Technology Cluster of the Institute for Future Strategy launched the “Grand Quest” project—a national initiative to identify the unsolved grand challenges which, once overcome, could revolutionise the paradigms of both Korea and the world.

Grand Quest 2024 is the culmination of more than a year of discussion, inquiry, and exploration by leading scholars across disciplines. This book presents ten “Grand Quests” collectively identified by Korea’s foremost experts, each representing a field where breakthroughs could redefine the future of science, technology, and industry:
ultra-fine and ultra-low-power semiconductors, next-generation batteries, enzyme-mimicking catalysts, environmentally adaptive robots, embodied cognitive-structure AI, reasoning AI, homomorphic encryption, anti-ageing technologies, AI-based antibody design, and quantum information science.

By presenting these grand questions and preliminary pathways toward their solutions, this book serves as a guide for all who seek to anticipate the future of industry and contribute to building a sustainable world driven by scientific and technological innovation.

Keywords:
Generative artificial intelligence, scientific and technological innovation, future industry, semiconductors and batteries, robotics, quantum information science, sustainability