Soo-man Lee Appears Publicly After a Long Time... "AI Chatbot Will Also Contribute to K-pop Communication"

Lee Soo-man, the founder of SM Entertainment and former chief producer, made a rare appearance at a domestic official event following last year's SM acquisition battle.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the morning of the 30th, Lee Soo-man participated in a special keynote speech at the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) World Congress held at the Conrad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul.

He said, "AI chatbots will soon become each of our best friends and even lovers," adding, "The fusion of K-pop and artificial intelligence (AI) will greatly contribute to K-pop's communication with fans worldwide."

Lee emphasized, "I am an AI chatbot Believer," and stated, "The fusion of K-pop and AI is the convergence of culture and technology that I have long talked about, heralding longer and broader comprehensive encounters between celebrities and prosumer (producer-consumer) fans."

He also explained that AI and chatbot technology are changing the way creators and consumers communicate at the speed of light. He said, "They are securing human fans with appearances identical to humans or even more attractive looks and more beautiful voices," and "They have started answering fans' questions in real time and communicating with fans on behalf of creators."

He added, "AI chatbots are already demonstrating remarkable abilities in text generation, music composition, and image creation," urging, "Content industry players must quickly establish business structures and build competitiveness in line with the evolution of AI technology mediating meetings between celebrities and fans."

Lee Soo-man expressed concerns that with the advancement of AI, issues such as ▲ copyright infringement ▲ illegal copying and distribution ▲ plagiarism ▲ exposure of creative works without protection ▲ and economic losses for creators could arise.

To prevent this, he said, "Clear copyright laws must be enacted, and the development of copyright infringement prevention technologies and global standardization must be achieved," adding, "I believe that AI chatbots, avatars, robots, and the like should be issued a kind of 'resident registration card,' that is, an ID, to implement a 'real-name system.'"

Since last year's SM acquisition battle, Lee Soo-man has mainly focused on ESG (environmental, social, and governance) activities overseas. His appearance on a domestic podium marks about nine months since the '2023 East Asia Future Forum' in August last year.