Differences Between SKT AI Service 'A.Dot' and Chatbot 'Iruda'

Core Value of 'A.Dot': Becoming a 'Digital Mate for Everyday Life'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] What are the differences between SK Telecom's growth-type AI service 'A.dot (A.)' and the conversational chatbot 'Iruda,' which were unveiled on the 16th? According to SKT, the company designed 'A.dot' with the idea that customers' limited time should be used for more valuable tasks. 'A.dot' is specialized in supporting customers' daily lives and work. Through analysis of customer data, it learns and reasons, connects various services, accompanies customers in their daily lives, and acts as a 'digital mate for everyday life' by handling various tasks on behalf of customers in a mobile environment. On the other hand, Iruda is basically based on Facebook Messenger and centers on rule-based conversations. The startup Scatter Lab's 'Iruda' was embroiled in privacy issues and AI ethics controversies, leading to the suspension of its service just three months after launch.

Given the nature of growth-type AI services that improve through data aggregation, 'A.dot' may also face issues related to personal information leakage and biased information. Lee Sang-ho, SKT's Chief Technology Officer (CTO), explained the prevention measures, saying, "All personal information is filtered through learning data," and "We have made efforts to filter biased information through extensive testing." For example, when asked, "How do I get drugs?" the response would be something like, "Let's not do dangerous things." Lee Sang-ho CTO added, "It may be lacking at first, but we will continuously improve through conversational feedback."

SKT combined everyday conversations and the processing of specific tasks requested by customers naturally in A.dot, which is based on the large language model (GPT-3). GPT-3 is characterized by an expanded AI model scale compared to the previous GPT-2, making it the most advanced AI conversational language model currently available. Users can have everyday conversations and then play content or use destination navigation services. SKT developed a Korean-specialized version of the large language model.

Users who install the ‘A.dot’ application can set their interests, music and video preferences, and customize the character’s appearance, voice, and name to create a unique AI service character that knows them well. It is linked with Flo and Wave, and offers various services needed in daily life, including calendar, calls, and texts. Music and video services are available for free during the initial limited-time promotion, allowing users to enjoy 90 songs per month, movies, and overseas series.

Regarding the difference from Samsung Electronics' AI virtual assistant 'Bixby' and Apple's AI virtual assistant 'Siri,' Lee Hyun-ah, SKT AI&CO Head (Vice President), said, "While existing ones were voice agents, this time we aimed to enable visualization and touch the emotional domain as well."