Kakao Hosts AI Utilization Competition: "Experimenting with Problem-Solving in the AI Era"

Kakao Impact and Brian Impact announced on the 23rd that they held the final event of the 'AI Top 100' competition on the 22nd at the Kakao AI Campus in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.

This competition, sponsored by the Ministry of Science and ICT and Kakao, was designed to discover new approaches to problem-solving using artificial intelligence (AI).

Kakao Impact and Brian Impact held the finals of the 'AI Top 100' competition on the 22nd at the Kakao AI Campus in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. Seokyoung Ryu, Chairman of Kakao Impact; Kyunghun Bae, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT; Sinha Jung, CEO of Kakao; and Kyunghun Kim, Executive Director of Brian Impact Foundation (from left). Photo by Kakao

The preliminary round of the competition was held online on the 18th of last month. More than 3,000 applicants participated, completing assigned tasks within a limited time. Participants came from a wide range of professions, including tech industry workers, self-employed individuals, firefighters, farmers, entrepreneurs, and lawyers, and ranged in age from 15 (born in 2010) to 67 (born in 1958). Among them, non-developers accounted for more than half.

During the event, participants were presented with various real-life problem scenarios and tasked with solving them using a variety of AI tools. For example, one challenge involved quickly understanding the work of a predecessor who left behind only vast amounts of data and no handover, in order to draft new business and planning documents.

The grand prize went to university student Jae Taeho. Jae stated, "I want to be someone who makes a positive impact on the world through technology," adding, "Winning this award will be a great stepping stone."

Paik Kyunghoon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT, who presented the grand prize, emphasized, "The ability to utilize AI is a core competency for the future," and added, "The skills and spirit of challenge demonstrated by participants from various generations at today's event will play a significant role in realizing Korea's 'AI Basic Society.'"

Jeong Sinha, CEO of Kakao, said, "The true competitiveness in the AI era lies in boldly abandoning old ways-'unlearning.' Through the participants who challenged themselves to push the limits of their potential using AI as a tool, I witnessed the power of 'people,' which is greater than technology itself."

Ryu Seokyoung, Chairman of Kakao Impact, commented, "This event was an intense festival that showcased just how significant problems humans can solve together with AI," and added, "Kakao Impact will continue to pursue social impact that fits the new era shaped by technology, with the belief that technology should benefit society."

Meanwhile, Kakao Impact has released some of the preliminary and final round problems on the foundation's website immediately after the competition. In addition, a dedicated website will be launched, allowing anyone to try solving all the problems presented in the competition.