SBS's social contribution and knowledge-sharing project, the SBS Digital Forum (SDF) 2026, will kick off on November 5 (Thursday) at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Seoul.

Marking its 22nd anniversary this year, the theme of SDF is "The Age of Alternative Intelligence: Asking for Sovereignty Over Thought."

Moving beyond generative AI, "agentic AI"—which judges and acts independently—is rapidly expanding its domain.

AI is now being utilized as a core tactical tool in warfare and has reached the level of independently executing cyberattacks to achieve its objectives.

While prominent scholars continue to warn that humanity could face extinction if AI is not controlled, our response is failing to keep pace with the speed of change.

The SBS Digital Forum aims to find answers to how far judgment and decisions should be entrusted to AI and how we should establish our relationship with it.


The keynote speaker for SDF 2026 is Eliezer Yudkowsky, a pioneer in AI safety and alignment who has consistently warned of the dangers of superintelligence.

Co-author of AI: The Death of Man, the Birth of Gods (Korean translation), Yudkowsky will visit South Korea for the first time to present the unique role that South Korea can play at the crossroads leading to superintelligence.

Philip Corlett, founding director of the Human-Centric AI Institute at the University of Oxford, will deliver a lecture on the design principles of AI agents that will enhance human autonomy and cognitive abilities.

Refik Anadol, a world-renowned media artist and co-founder of Dataland, the world's first AI arts museum, will participate as a non-face-to-face live speaker.

Anadol will present a new form of art utilizing data as "paint" and AI as a "thinking brush."
  Key leaders from AI-related defense and security companies, as well as figures from the domestic arts and culture sector, will participate in large numbers at SDF 2026.

Lee Joon-seok, head of the Defense AI Research Center at Hanwha Aerospace, will introduce the direction and application fields of defense AI, demonstrating its potential to contribute to national security and AI sovereignty.

Lim Sung-shin, head of the AI Development Office at Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI)—which is developing its own independent "AI pilot" in preparation for future air combat—will present a vision of future air combat where humans and AI collaborate based on their respective strengths.

Kang Lee-yeon, a chair professor in the Department of Industrial Design at KAIST, will highlight "art" as a powerful antidote in an era that has lost "creative friction," presenting a vision to restore lost agency and humanity.

Bestselling poet Park Joon will discuss what we are losing and how we can protect it in the AI era that pursues efficiency and speed.

The forum will also unveil joint research results from Seoul National University's Institute for Future Strategy, Yonsei University's Graduate School of Information, KAIST, and the SBS Cultural Foundation.

Based on a large-scale "Public Awareness Survey on AI" conducted on 2,000 people, the forum will diagnose the impact of AI on Korean society.

In addition, in-depth discussions will take place on how AI agents can contribute to the public sphere and what the role of media should be in the AI era.

Applications to attend the forum are open through the official website (www.sdf.or.kr) until October 30 (Friday).