AI Mudang, Please Tell Me My Fate This Year [AI Error Notes]

Thanks to 'Bosal' and 'Beopsa' in the Martial Law Incident,
Fortune-telling Shops Are Busier Than Ever
'AI Fortune-telling' and 'AI Mudang' Also See a Surge in Popularity
The Essential Role Remains the Same:
Soothing Anxiety in Uncertain Times

Editor's NoteExamining failures is the shortcut to success. 'AI Wrong Answer Notes' explores failure cases related to AI products, services, companies, and individuals.

There are three places that get crowded at the start of the new year.

"I will lose weight this year!" Gyms,

"I will study languages properly!" Language institutes,

"I must read at least three books a month!" Bookstores.

There is one more place to add here.

"What will my fortune be this year?"

Fortune-telling shops.

Thanks to 'Geonjin Beopsa' and 'Ansan Bosal'(?), fortune-telling shops are the main attraction

A metallic-feeling robotic arm is holding a brush and writing calligraphy. Around it, items related to shamanism such as rice and red beans are placed. ChatGPT (DALL·E 3)

Interest in New Year's fortunes, Four Pillars of Destiny (Saju), and physiognomy increases during the Lunar New Year holidays. This year, the interest is even greater than usual due to the December 3 martial law incident. Former Intelligence Commander Noh Sang-won, involved in this incident, has been active under the name 'Ansan Bosal,' and Jeon Seong-bae as 'Geonjin Beopsa.' Since almost every media outlet mentions the words 'Bosal' and 'Beopsa,' public interest naturally rises.

Famous fortune-telling shops and Saju cafes that were already busy are now overwhelmed with reservations, and even online fortune-telling sites have seen an increase in visitors. Regular customers have reportedly complained, asking, "Why is it so hard to make a reservation these days?"

Recently, new fortune-telling services have also gained popularity. This is 'AI fortune-telling.'

To the extent that large sums of money are being invested. According to the startup analysis platform 'Innovation Forest,' numerous major domestic venture capitalists (VCs) have invested in fortune-telling and Saju platforms. VCs such as Capstone Partners, Big Basin Capital, Kakao Games, Kakao Ventures, and Mashup Ventures have invested 8.5 billion KRW in a single company. Bon Angels, Spring Camp, and Altos Ventures have also funded related service platforms.

In AI fortune-telling and Saju services, users input their birth date, birth time, name, gender, and the AI interprets their fortune. Some services even analyze MBTI or blood type to provide more refined fortunes.

By uploading a facial photo, accumulated image data is analyzed to provide physiognomy readings. This is the 'AI physiognomy' service. With advances in image processing technology, AI physiognomy is poised to enter the corporate and business sectors. Research results have shown that "by analyzing a single facial photo with AI, personality can be understood, and academic performance or professional achievements can be predicted."

Research teams from Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, Reichman University, and Indiana University extracted photos of 96,000 graduates from LinkedIn and major U.S. business school (MBA) program photo directories. They categorized and analyzed personality traits. Then, they examined correlations between these personality traits and graduates' academic records, employment status, workplace performance, and success. Computer vision and AI natural language processing technologies were used.

'AI Mudang' Armed with Machine Learning and Advanced Technology... Is It More Powerful?

Symbols related to shamanism, such as talismans, red beans, and a scarecrow with nails driven into it, are placed here. Photo by Getty Images Bank

When cutting-edge technical terms are used, it gives the impression of being scientific and accurate. Is 'AI Mudang' really more powerful than 'OO-dong Daebak Bosal'? The answer is probably 'unknown.'

AI Mudang and Daebak Bosal actually provide answers based on similar principles.

Saju is often called 'the ancestors' big data.' It is claimed to be 'the statistics of fate' accumulated over thousands of years. Saju experts have observed and recorded the lives of people with specific Saju for a long time, and it can be said that they have predicted a person's future based on this data.

AI Mudang is the same. It is based on large language model (LLM) technology that has learned countless Saju interpretations and fortune-telling data. In the case of AI physiognomy, it has learned numerous facial images and their corresponding interpretations to find patterns.

Whether Daebak Bosal or AI Mudang, their answers are merely inductive reasoning that predicts the future based on past data. The expectation that "because it happened in the past, it will definitely happen in the future" often or easily collapses.

Then why do people visit AI Mudang? Because they are anxious

A person wearing hanbok is writing red characters on a yellow talisman paper. Photo by Getty Images Bank

It is partially confirmed that satisfaction with AI Saju services is high. However, this does not mean that "AI accurately predicted my fortune and future."

One should not misunderstand 'high satisfaction' as 'accuracy.' Satisfaction with fortune-telling and Saju services should be considered differently.

Why do people cling so much to Saju and fortune-telling?

Because they are anxious.

Employment difficulties, closures of self-employed businesses, low birth rates, aging population, elderly poverty, discrimination, and hatred. These are the realities surrounding us. The more uncertain reality is, the more people want to know even a step ahead.

Deep down, even though we know predicting the future is unscientific, we look at fortunes. It is the psychology of wanting to get even a small hint in the face of an uncertain future.

In that sense, looking at Saju and fortunes is an act of soothing one's deep anxiety. Whether the fortune is good or bad, once confirmed, anxiety can be reduced. It is satisfying. One characteristic of AI-based Saju is that it is 'fast and convenient.' Satisfaction also comes quickly and easily.

The future cannot be predicted; it can only be created

Photo of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. He is known for the saying, "The future is not something to be predicted, but something to be created." However, it is unclear whether he actually said this. There is also a claim that Peter Drucker, the founder of management studies, was the first to say this. Library of Congress

The only certain thing is that neither AI Mudang nor Daebak Bosal, nor anyone else, can accurately predict our future.

Even researchers who have devoted their lives to predicting human futures with AI warn against such approaches. A joint research team from the Technical University of Denmark and the University of Copenhagen developed an AI model called 'Life2vec' that can predict remaining lifespan, personality, and future life based on accumulated data of an individual.

Professor Sune Lehmann of the Technical University of Denmark, who led this research, said, "If this model is to be used in real life, regulations must be established to prevent AI's predictions from influencing human biases."

This was to caution against the 'self-fulfilling prophecy' of predictions (a phenomenon where beliefs about a person or event influence behavior, eventually making the belief come true). The researchers emphasized that AI-predicted results should be used only for academic or reference purposes.

If you happen to check your fortune during this Lunar New Year holiday, please neither be arrogant nor discouraged by the results. There is a saying, "The best way to predict the future is to create it."

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