GS Group Finance and Marketing Employees Also Develop AI Chatbot (Comprehensive)

[Report] GS, 'Let's Play with GEN AI' Hackathon 2024
Tool Developed for Non-IT Departments to Create AI Apps

On the 3rd, participants are having a project meeting at the GS Group Hackathon 2024 held at InterContinental COEX Seoul in Samseong-dong, Seoul. Photo by Jeong Dong-hoon

"Previously, the development of AI applications needed within the company was solely handled by developers. However, GS Group's MIR platform enables general employees to easily create and modify apps using generative AI."

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Jina Kim, Assistant General Manager in charge of 52g at GS Group, stated this on the 3rd at the 'GS Group Hackathon,' a Silicon Valley-style innovation idea competition. 52g is GS Group’s open innovation and innovation organization. It addresses group-wide challenges using AI and solves DX (Digital Transformation) issues.

This year marks the third GS Group Hackathon, themed 'PLAI with GenAI,' which encourages the enjoyable use of generative AI in fieldwork. By utilizing generative AI along with the MIR platform developed by 52g, not only IT departments but also general business departments such as finance and marketing can develop AI apps and chatbots. Using this platform, a system was built that allows users to receive guidance on complex safety regulations, electronic approvals, and other work instructions simply by asking questions.

The hackathon was held over two days at the InterContinental COEX Seoul in Samseong-dong, with about 400 employees attending. A hackathon is a portmanteau of hacking and marathon, where planners, developers, designers, and other professionals form teams to develop services matching a theme within a limited time.

For this event, GS Group employees voluntarily registered online in large numbers. Among approximately 600 employees from 19 affiliates including GS Caltex, GS Retail, and GS Construction who applied, 351 employees forming 83 teams were selected considering the feasibility of proposed ideas and affiliate distribution. Compared to last year’s 300 employees and 60 teams, the event is growing in scale and becoming an annual innovation event for GS Group.

Participants formed teams of 3 to 5 members by company or created joint teams by gathering individual applicants from multiple companies. Teams were required to utilize generative AI such as ChatGPT. They underwent about two weeks of pre-orientation to familiarize themselves with generative AI tools and learned design thinking methodologies to concretize their ideas. Additionally, about 30 digital innovation experts including 52g’s UX designers, IT developers, and design thinking coaches served as mentors to assist in refining ideas during the competition.

The GS Group Hackathon took place over two days, from the 3rd to the 4th, at the InterContinental Seoul COEX in Samseong-dong. Photo by GS Group

Seungyong Lee, a junior staff member at GS Caltex who participated in the hackathon, said, "Before starting work on-site, we write a work application form for safety and risk assessments and submit it for review by related agencies. Since safety-related matters are complex, omissions or errors can occur, so we want to create a chatbot that can help check these." He added, "Generative AI once felt distant from my work area, but using tools developed by 52g and others, it seems practical for work."

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Huh Se-hong, President of GS Caltex, who visited the site that day, said, "I came to visit and support several teams, including the team from GS Caltex Yeosu Plant," adding, "Digital transformation is very important, and it is very meaningful that field members who know the pain points (products or services causing inconvenience) best are directly driving DX."

Huh Yoon-hong, President of GS Construction, also visited the hackathon site and said, "AI is increasingly being used in various parts of the industry, which seems to be why it became this year’s hackathon theme," and added, "GS Construction is also partially applying AI services that provide real-time interpretation for foreign workers on-site."

During the competition, participating teams examined phenomena discovered in their businesses and work sites from various perspectives, defined problems, and then used digital tools to develop services or business models that solve these problems, progressing to prototypes. This process is meaningful because it is executed quickly and intensively over about 30 hours in 1 night and 2 days, covering the entire process from problem definition to solution proposal and actual service model implementation, not just idea presentation.

At the competition venue, various ideas emerged to improve work process efficiency by integrating AI and enhance customer-facing experiences at convenience stores, gas stations, construction sites, and more. Teams selected after the hackathon can receive active company support to move forward to the stage of realizing their ideas with the help of specialized organizations.

GS Construction CEO Heo Yoonhong is listening to the proposals of hackathon participants. Photo by GS Group

Since the beginning of this year, GS Group has focused on advancing DX (Digital Transformation) activities centered on business sites. Employees in the field are expected to discover tasks themselves and grow with the help of digital experts, gradually transforming their work methods based on AI. In particular, the company supports all employees to become familiar with generative AI tools and gain experience innovating work and business. This is based on the judgment that to change the corporate culture, each employee in the field must accumulate experience improving their work and business using digital technology and AI.

GS Chairman Tae-soo Huh emphasized, "With the advent of generative AI, field employees can now directly drive digital innovation," and added, "Let’s develop AI capabilities so that all employees across group companies become proficient in using generative AI tools."