When AI says, “Avian influenza will spread next week,”
how far should we trust that answer?
I study that “how far.” My work centers on trustworthy AI: when predictions and simulations from AI can be trusted in high-stakes physical and social systems—and when they should be rejected. I have used deep learning to forecast problems such as algal blooms and infectious disease, where errors can be costly. More recently, I have been testing whether LLM-based synthetic agents that respond like people are valid tools for social and behavioral research.
One accuracy score is not enough to make AI trustworthy. To use AI in practice, we need to see both the basis for its answer and the conditions under which it breaks down. The writing, teaching, and research on this site all return to that question.
I am currently developing this perspective into two Korean-language books in the AI ERA SERIES: Python Fundamentals in the Age of AI and Python Data Visualization in the Age of AI, scheduled for publication in September 2026. About the books →
What I do#
Education & Research
Professor, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
I study and teach at the intersection of AI and society in the Division of Social Science & AI Convergence. I earned my bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in engineering from KAIST.
Real-World Application
CEO, AI Korea Inc.
I founded an AI startup and directly develop and operate practical AI services in infectious disease and the environment.
Research focus#
- Explainable AI (XAI)
- Uncertainty quantification
- Infectious-disease forecasting
- Environmental forecasting
- Deep learning
- Validity of LLM-based synthetic agents
I have participated in projects that tackle real-world forecasting problems, including the national Digital Columbus project, and have led numerous research projects as principal investigator.
Background#
Previously, I was an associate professor at Tech University of Korea and an associate research fellow on the Big Data Research Team at the Korea Environment Institute. I also served on the Environmental Economy Subcommittee of the Ministry of Environment’s Central Environmental Policy Committee. I have taught programming and data analysis at universities for ten years, and I draw on experience from both the classroom and the startup field while writing the AI ERA SERIES.
Publications and awards#
I have published more than twenty research papers in international journals, including Journal of Cleaner Production, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, and Expert Systems with Applications. I received the President’s Award from the Korea Environment Institute for developing a multimodal-LLM conversational AI specialized for environmental research. In 2008, I received the Talent Award of Korea, a presidential award. I also serve on the editorial board of Journal of Innovation & Knowledge.