Google: "AI Cannot Replace Human Creativity... It Is an Auxiliary Tool for Empowerment"

"Change and Collaboration Are the Core of Google’s AI Tools"

"In order to use artificial intelligence (AI) effectively in the future, we must go beyond simply becoming engineers and learn how to be excellent collaborators."

Simon Tokumine, Director of Google Labs, made this statement at a press conference held on the morning of July 2 at the Chosun Palace Hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. He emphasized that as AI products and their capabilities become increasingly diverse and evolve into 'agents' capable of autonomous decision-making, collaboration becomes essential. He currently oversees the development of Google's AI-based note-taking app, NotebookLM.

Simon Tokumine, Director of Google Labs, is speaking at a press conference held on the morning of the 2nd at the Chosun Palace Hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Google Korea

The press conference was held as part of the 'Google for Korea 2025' event, which was organized by Google to share its domestic partnerships and achievements.

Director Tokumine recently identified 'change' and 'collaboration' as the two key concepts for AI tools. 'Change' refers to transforming one type of information into another, such as converting text into images or images into videos. Google's NotebookLM was presented as an example: it analyzes text, voice, or video and summarizes it into a single, easily understandable piece of information. Google's AI filmmaking tool 'Flow,' designed for movie creators, was also cited as an example of change.

'Collaboration' means that AI can go beyond simply answering users' questions and act as a collaborator capable of making its own decisions. Google's inference model 'Gemini 2.5 Pro,' unveiled in March, was presented as an example. Director Tokumine stressed, "Gemini 2.5 Pro is not only able to answer questions but can also make decisions," adding, "It is ready to act as an agent."

Earlier in the event, Manish Gupta, Senior Director of Google DeepMind, presented the achievements of Google's major AI research programs, including AlphaFold and the foundation large language model (LLM) Gemini. He oversees AI research for Google in the Asia-Pacific region.

AlphaFold is a protein structure prediction AI model being developed by Google DeepMind. Demis Hassabis, CEO of DeepMind, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry last year in recognition of the achievements in developing AlphaFold.

Manish Gupta, Senior Director of Google DeepMind, is speaking at a press conference held on the morning of the 2nd at Chosun Palace Hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Google Korea

During the Q&A session, Director Gupta was asked whether AI could replace human creativity. He emphasized that AI is "an auxiliary tool for enhancing capabilities, not a replacement." He explained, "As can be seen in collaborations between artists and Google, AI models do not inherently desire to create music," adding, "We see AI not as a replacement for people, but as a means to assist them."

There was also mention of using YouTube to train large language models (LLMs) in Korean and various other languages. Director Gupta said, "We are striving to understand not just the language itself but also its cultural aspects, and YouTube is one of our main sources," adding, "Through YouTube, we train on a lot of data, such as the tone and nuance people use when speaking, and behaviors toward superiors, not just in English-speaking contexts but in other cultures as well."

Director Tokumine responded to the observation that Google's generative AI service Gemini currently has a relatively lower market share in Korea compared to competitor OpenAI's ChatGPT by saying, "It is still in the early stages and there is plenty of room for growth."

Regarding Google's unique strengths compared to competitors, Director Tokumine emphasized, "We provide AI services in a vertically integrated manner," adding, "Starting from fundamental research, we offer all the necessary AI services, including AI semiconductors and cloud, in an integrated way."