[The Editors' Verdict] 'AI Agents' Become Game Changers

Realization of Movie's 'Jarvis' and 'KITT'
Performing Data Collection and Product Purchases
Google to Launch AI Assistant Within the Year

"Kitt, help me!" This was a frequently heard line in the American drama Knight Rider, which was very popular in South Korea during the mid to late 1980s. Kitt (Kitt) was an AI-based cutting-edge autonomous car that saved the protagonist in danger, boasting a presence even more remarkable than the main character. It was an all-purpose supercar equipped with a turbo booster that could leap into the air, flamethrowers, tear gas, and lasers. It also helped investigations by finding information about criminals in just a few seconds and acted as an AI agent that infiltrated phone lines and confused criminals by modulating voices.

The artificial intelligence named Jarvis appearing in the movie Iron Man

The AI assistant 'JARVIS' in the movie Iron Man is an upgraded version of Kitt. JARVIS not only manages the protagonist’s Malibu mansion and serves as a secretary but also assists with hacking and Iron Man’s combat, playing the role of both secretary and right-hand man, capturing the hearts of countless mechanics and IT (information technology) enthusiasts.

Kitt and JARVIS, once only possible in imagination, are expected to appear soon. Global big tech companies are currently all rushing to develop AI agents.

Google is developing an AI agent under the codename ‘Project JARVIS,’ named after Iron Man’s JARVIS. JARVIS handles tasks such as research data collection, product purchases, and flight bookings. It can also take screenshots of computer screens based on human commands, interpret them autonomously, and click buttons or input text. Project JARVIS is expected to be unveiled as early as December.

OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, is also developing assistant software that can autonomously move the cursor, click, input text, and perform other tasks. Anthropic, a startup considered a rival to OpenAI, released a test version of its AI agent ‘Computer Youth’ on the 22nd of last month. Microsoft (MS) also announced an AI autonomous assistant feature that can make decisions and act independently to execute business processes on behalf of individuals or departments.

AI assistants or agents are currently regarded as the ultimate goal of generative AI development and commercialization. This is because such services require the simultaneous application of ‘multi-modal’ generative AI capable of inputting and outputting various types of data developed so far, including text, images, audio, and video. Since the emergence of generative AI and large language models marked by OpenAI’s ChatGPT in 2022, the competition has shifted from ‘technology’ to ‘services’ utilizing these technologies. Until now, the game changers in the IT industry have been companies that secured services first.

International market research firm Global Information projected that the AI agent market, which was valued at $4.1 billion (approximately 6 trillion KRW) last year, will grow at an average annual rate of 47.3% to reach $61.8 billion (approximately 86 trillion KRW) by 2030. Additionally, market research firm Gartner selected AI agents as one of the top 10 technology trends for next year. In particular, it forecasted that the proportion of daily tasks decided by AI agents will increase from 0% this year to at least 15% by 2028. It is no exaggeration to say that market dominance for the next 20 to 30 years depends on this.

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” This is one of the three laws of science by Arthur C. Clarke, the master of science fiction who wrote 2001: A Space Odyssey. The day when JARVIS manages household tasks and Kitt runs on the road is not far off. If this becomes reality, it might even rival Harry Potter’s magic wand.