Everyday I wake up to people sliding their daily conspiracy theories into my DM’s. Noted conspiracy nutballs like David Icke have crawled out of their holes long enough to project their intellectual flatulence onto the scene, and if I’m going to keep any semblance of faith in humanity, I have to believe that he’s going to be shouted down and sent packing. Most of these are benign and laughable—global conspiracy theories about governing bodies at all levels of power successfully gathering our compliance to stay in our homes and out of the way while they concoct some unknown scheme or plan.
Most of these are slashed apart with a deft handling of Ocham’s Razour, or the notion that the simplest explanation is best, but some conspiracy theories aren’t so outlandish. They’re equally wrong—sometimes innocently misinterpreted facts, and sometimes direct spin with a sharp political edge with the potential to be harmful. These are the ones that companies like Datametrex AI (DM.V) are going after with their joint Korean venture with Lotte (KRX: 004990).
If you’re not familiar with Lotte, they’re a Korean multinational conglomerate spread out over multiple industries and operating in China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, United States, United Kingdom, Kazakhstan, Russia, Philippines, Myanmar, Pakistan and Poland The JV is going to leverage Datametrex AI’s fake-news detecting artificial intelligence technology to improve the accuracy and transparency of data and communications, and parse actual information from intentional misinformation for the Ministry of Health Department in South Korea.
The company successfully pitched the opportunity because of the work they did with the U.S. federal government on COVID-19 and the coronavirus. Datametrex released a report on April 1, 2020, which identified Chinese authorities manipulating social media surrounding the disease to sway public opinion to negatively impact the U.S. government and President Trump while reframing China and President Xi as heroes.
“I am thrilled to share this update with shareholders, our team has done a fantastic job fast tracking with Lotte. The work we have done this past year training our technology in various languages such as Korean, Chinese, French and Russian is really starting to pay off,” said Marshall Gunter, chief executive officer of Datametrex AI.
Lotte was one of the two companies invited to bid on a contract to provide AI solutions to the South Korean Ministry of Health—Welfare, Food & Drug related to COVID-19. Lotte in turn invited Datametrex, which is a preferred vendor of Lotte, to participate and provide the AI tech if the bid is successful. The contract would have Datametrex implementing their AI solution to monitor search engine and SNS welfare, food and drug beneficiaries that would allow the South Korean government to monitor potentially fraudulent activities with COVID-19 pandemic related grants. Datametrex will also filter incorrect and unreliable information, allowing the Ministry of Health to get a better understanding of the pandemic and help it to maximize the efficiency of its human resources.
If Lotte is awarded the contract, they’ll form a JV with Datametrex AI but also KT Net, a corporation owned and controlled by the South Korean government. The JV will give Lotte %75 of the equity, with DM getting %15 and the final ten percent going to KT Net. Under terms agreed by the parties, Lotte would contribute $450,000, Datametrex will provide its AI technology and KT Net will provide private blockchain technology. The total revenue expected to be earned from this contract is approximately $1.2-million per year, and Datametrex expects to receive its proportionate share of the revenue after payment of the joint’s company’s expenses. There is no assurance that Lotte Group will be successful in its bid.
—Joseph Morton
