G-Dragon Blends AI and K-pop at Innovate Korea 2025
If you think K-pop and artificial intelligence sound like a wild mix, G-Dragon just made that real at the Innovate Korea 2025 forum. Held at the high-profile Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) on April 9 and 10, the event was a magnet for big ideas on where technology can take music, art, and public imagination. G-Dragon—yes, the same superstar who redefined K-pop cool—took on a new role not in a stadium but behind a podium, as a visiting professor.
On the panel titled The Future of AI and Enter-tech, he sat alongside Professor Lee Seung-seob from KAIST’s mechanical engineering department, Galaxy Corporation CEO Choi Yong-ho, and moderator Professor Kim Sang-kyun from Kyung Hee University. The group tackled how high-tech concepts like machine learning and generative AI are no longer just for labs—they’re fast becoming inseparable from the music and entertainment everyone loves.
Here’s the real kicker: For G-Dragon, this isn’t just talk. His agency, Galaxy Corporation, and KAIST are out to launch the world’s first K-pop-powered attempt to reach extraterrestrials. Their plan? Beam G-Dragon’s AI-created tracks and videos out into the cosmos, plugging into NASA-led SETI research looking for signs of life beyond Earth. If aliens love K-pop, G-Dragon could be their first idol.
Space Music, Enter-Tech, and K-pop’s New Playground
This project is just the next step in a partnership that kickstarted in 2024, when Galaxy Corporation and KAIST opened an R&D center focused on AI's potential in K-pop. Think of it as a creative lab where scientists and musicians collide, and ideas like AI song production, deepfake performance, and virtual fan interactions are cooked up. G-Dragon didn’t sugarcoat the transition; he’s open about the challenges in swapping the stage for lecture halls, emphasizing that for all the technology out there, making sure these advances actually reach and inspire fans is the real test.
Besides the tech talk, G-Dragon’s style again made headlines. He rocked an outfit that defied easy description—picture a layered straw fedora, a checkered trench, and bold stripes. Comfort doesn’t always mean boring, especially when you’ve built a career out of choreography, breaking norms, and setting trends. His look only added to the electric, boundary-pushing tone of the event.
For G-Dragon, his stint as a visiting professor is more than just a resume line. After being appointed last year, he’s invested in making the world of tech and creativity accessible to more than just coders or producers—it’s about sparking curiosity, challenging the status quo, and seeing how far K-pop can actually go. Now, with a space-bound AI music project on the horizon, he’s literally aiming for the stars. And for fans, scientists, and possibly a distant civilization or two, it’s an experiment worth watching.
