The National Institute of Environmental Research, an affiliate of the Ministry of Environment, announced its hosting of a joint symposium on Sept. 19 with the Korea Institute of Toxicology on alternatives to animal testing at the hotel Courtyard by Marriott Seoul Botanic Park. Shown are human organoids displayed at Daejeon Convention Center in October 2023 in Daejeon's Yuseong-gu District. (Yonhap News)

By Lee Jihae

A symposium in Seoul has promoted the use of artificial intelligence (AI) as an alternative to animal testing.

The National Institute of Environmental Research, an affiliate of the Ministry of Environment, announced its Sept. 19 hosting of the event jointly with the Korea Institute of Toxicology at the hotel Courtyard by Marriott Seoul Botanic Park in Seoul's Gangseo-gu District.

The topics include the results by both think tanks of an agreement they signed in January last year on promoting such alternatives and the potential uses of the findings.

About 120 experts from 50 organizations were expected to attend from academia, industry, research institutes and relevant ministries.

The symposium will represent studies on the creation of predictive models for reproductive and developmental toxicity and skin corrosion, procedures for setting testing guidelines and AI-based approaches for predicting peptide toxicity.

jihlee08@korea.kr