[AI Hegemony War Korea's Winning Move] From Lotto Draws to English Tutoring... Tried These with AI Too

Survey of 50 Domestic AI Companies
'AI Utilization Stories' from Leading AI Experts

They search for data and draft proposals and reports. They quickly write English emails to overseas partners. If there were a team member like this, work would be bearable, but there is more they can do. They check my schedule and act as a secretary, correcting my bothersome English pronunciation every time. During breaks, they summarize and read books I’ve been curious about, and subtly recommend lottery numbers, saying the chances of winning are high. This truly good colleague and friend is called Artificial Intelligence (AI). Nowadays, it is commonly referred to as 'ChatGPT,' borrowing the name of a service that has rapidly entered our lives. This is not a prediction of how AI can be used in daily life and work. It is a partial record of how it is actually being used now. This is the result of asking experts working at Korea’s leading AI companies what tasks they have accomplished using AI technology. The 'usage stories' from those on the front lines who experience and use the technology give us an idea of how AI will gradually permeate our lives.

A survey conducted by Asia Economy targeting employees of 50 representative AI companies in Korea found that AI technology is being widely used not only in current work but also throughout daily life. This means AI is no longer a technology of the future but one that is changing our lives right now.

As companies directly handling AI, the most common use was during the development process. ChatGPT is utilized in various fields such as coding, debugging to fix program errors, and reverse engineering to analyze the technical principles of systems. There were even developers who had experience using AI during their job preparation process. One explained, "I prepared by creating a mock interview service that generates expected interview questions based on job postings."

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AI’s influence extends beyond development to various company tasks. Writing documents and emails is basic. Kim Bohyung, CEO of CNAI, said, "I ask it to write the table of contents and draft content for company proposals." Lee Donggeon, CEO of MyRealTrip, also said, "I write most English emails with the help of ChatGPT." There was even a startup that entrusts all communication with users to AI. When launching a new brand, they also create logos using AI.

AI technology is also widely used in content creation. A representative from a telecommunications company said, "We used AI voice synthesis technology to create an AI voice resembling my own," adding, "Even if you are not good at speaking foreign languages, you can synthesize multilingual speech to easily produce YouTube content." This means that even those with camera shyness or lack of confidence in foreign languages can become YouTubers targeting the global market. Animation that automatically generates rich emotional expressions is also possible. A representative from a content company explained, "When voice data is input, AI automatically analyzes emotions and applies natural facial expressions matching those emotions to animation content."

Utilization in the content field also becomes a business model for startups. Oh Hyunoh, CEO of Gaudio Lab, said, "We developed technology that generates sound from images." Heowon Gil, CEO of Poja Labs, said, "We created a product that generates background music for content using AI technology, allowing use without copyright issues."

In gaming, AI and data have enabled the interpretation of user and game character behavior patterns that were previously difficult to analyze. A game company representative said, "We define numerous patterns and data to understand users and apply them to various solutions," adding, "It is a matching method that figures out which users will enjoy playing with which games more."

AI also plays a role in acquiring information not only at work but in daily life. Kim Jinwoo, CEO of Liner, said, "We created an AI that reads text aloud, so now I don’t have to read everything; I just ask the AI about the parts I need and finish reading." AI is also a companion in the ever-challenging task of learning English. A representative from an IT company said, "I use ChatGPT along with text-to-speech and speech recognition technologies to practice English speaking, and it helps by explaining more kindly than native speakers and even correcting me."