[AI Hegemony War Korea's Winning Move] "AI Has Taken Over My Desk"... Is an Unprecedented Wave of Layoffs Coming?

US Companies Cut 3,900 Jobs Using AI
Generative AI Replaces 300 Million Full-Time Positions

# Virtual human production company Onmind recently shared how to use the image generation AI 'Stable Diffusion' with all employees. The AI could adjust the intensity of expressions like 'vividness' with just a few clicks or replicate the painting style of a specific artist. Among in-house graphic designers, there was a reaction of "Aren't we going to be laid off soon?" Onmind has established a dedicated AI team (AI Lab) and is expanding AI utilization in its work.

# A 3D graphic artist, Mr. A, working at a mobile game company, experienced changes in his tasks after the company introduced the image generation AI 'Midjourney.' Creating 3D models of game characters and converting them into animated 2D graphics previously required manual work and creativity. After using Midjourney, all that was needed was to write prompts to generate the required images and add some Photoshop processing. Mr. A said, "Tasks that used to take weeks are now finished within 2 to 3 days, so it feels like AI is taking my place," adding, "I wonder if the situation is any different at other companies."

AI is eyeing jobs. It is efficiently handling even high-paying creative tasks that were considered difficult for machines to replace. With the rapid rise of generative AI, which produces new creative works such as text and images based on learned data, there are forecasts of a storm of AI-driven layoffs.

AI is already eliminating jobs. According to a report by the U.S. human resources consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas (CG&C), 3,900 people were laid off last month in U.S. companies due to AI. This ranks seventh in scale, following closures (19,598 people), market conditions (14,617 people), and cost reductions (8,397 people). This is the first time AI has appeared as a reason for workforce reduction in the report.

The outlook is even darker. Investment bank Goldman Sachs predicts that generative AI will replace 300 million full-time jobs, meaning 18% of jobs worldwide will disappear. According to a CNBC survey in the U.S., one in four American workers fears that AI will make their jobs obsolete. High-paying office jobs are found to be more vulnerable to AI threats than simple labor jobs. It is analyzed that advanced countries will be more affected than emerging markets. Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of DeepMind, which developed AlphaGo, and CEO of Inflection AI, warned, "Due to AI development, a significant portion of office jobs will take on very different forms over the next 5 to 10 years," adding, "It will produce numerous losers."

Creative tasks such as design and copywriting have also undergone changes with the advent of AI. LG Group developed the generative AI 'Exaone Atelier' and is using it for product design. Designers concretize images created by Exaone Atelier and apply them to LG Household & Health Care's cosmetics brand Su:m37 product designs. Naver is piloting the 'AI Q-Sheet Helper,' which drafts scripts for live shopping broadcasts based on the super-large AI 'HyperCLOVA.' The AI uses product information and purchase reviews uploaded by sellers to write a draft within one minute. It can even replicate the speech styles of professional show hosts or influencers. Krafton plans to release the AI puzzle game 'Punda' in the third quarter of this year. The AI instantly creates customized puzzles according to the user's skill level. This means AI is replacing tasks previously done by developers.

As AI utilization rapidly expands, some industries are pushing back. The webtoon industry, where an 'AI boycott' is in full swing, is a representative example. The webtoon platform Naver Webtoon is flooded with 'AI Webtoon Boycott' posts uploaded by creators. This was triggered by a new work posted last month on Naver Webtoon that became embroiled in AI creation suspicions. Creators are extremely wary, fearing that AI will reduce jobs and threaten the creative ecosystem. It is no longer far-fetched for workers opposing AI use to go on strike. On the 14th, the Webtoon Writers' Union and the Korea Scenario Writers' Union held solidarity protests supporting the U.S. Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike. The WGA launched a full strike for the first time in 15 years last month, demanding strengthened job security shaken by the emergence of streaming platforms and a ban on AI scriptwriting.

On the other hand, there are claims that rather than jobs disappearing, the way of working will change. AI collaboration will become routine, like having a secretary or intern by one's side. This is expected to increase productivity and allow focus on higher-level tasks. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) released research showing that using ChatGPT can reduce average work time by 37%. Global financial institution Jefferies predicted, "AI will make workers more efficient, leading to widespread adoption of a four-day workweek." Lee Hwalseok, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Upstage, which extensively uses ChatGPT for internal tasks, said, "Employees call ChatGPT an 'intern,'" adding, "They think of it as roughly the level of expectations for a typical intern or a third-year employee."