Physical AI competition grows amid U.S.-China rivalry

OpenAI’s ChatGPT, launched on Nov. 30, 2022, marked the start of the generative artificial intelligence era, which this year celebrates its third anniversary. Since ChatGPT opened the field, the AI market has been rapidly reshaped, led mainly by the United States and China. China has showcased technologies such as DeepSeek and Moonshot, known for their cost-effectiveness, demonstrating capabilities comparable to those of the United States, while Google in the U.S. has challenged ChatGPT’s dominance with Gemini 3.

Meanwhile, amid the U.S.-China AI rivalry, domestic users in South Korea are increasingly reliant on foreign AI models. A survey conducted by The Dong-A Ilbo of roughly 300 IT professionals from Korean companies and institutions found that 52.6 percent reported using OpenAI’s GPT models, exceeding half of the respondents. Fewer than 10 percent said they use models developed domestically.

Amid this trend, a joint report by the Korea Institute of S&T Policy (STEPI) and the U.K.’s Alan Turing Institute, titled “Korea-U.K. Sovereign AI Cooperation Strategy for the Physical AI Era,” concluded that as U.S.-China competition intensifies, the AI race is expanding into the “Physical AI” domain. The report suggests that survival in the global AI race requires a coalition of middle powers, including South Korea and the United Kingdom.

The report emphasizes that self-sufficiency in core technologies is unrealistic for individual countries, making the acquisition of critical technologies and allied cooperation essential. It notes that South Korea, strong in software, and the U.K., strong in hardware, can form a mutually complementary partnership.

Choi Jong-hwa, STEPI research fellow and the study’s lead author, stressed, “To gain leadership in next-generation Physical AI, alliances with middle powers such as the U.K., India, and Saudi Arabia are essential.” Ardi Yaneva, senior researcher at the Alan Turing Institute, added, “We must explore the potential of Physical AI by combining South Korea’s strengths in manufacturing and robotics with the U.K.’s expertise in AI software.”


장은지 기자 jej@donga.com