[Reporter’s Notebook] No Miracles for the AI Industry Shackled by the 52-Hour Workweek

"Try boiling water at 70 degrees Celsius for 8 hours a day over 1,000 days, and let me know if you discover the miracle of boiling water."

During a survey conducted for the feature article "Time on the AI Battlefield: Trapped by the 52-Hour Rule," a professional in the artificial intelligence (AI) industry explained the well-known IT analogy of boiling water in the context of the frustration caused by the 52-hour workweek regulation. Just as water only boils at 100 degrees Celsius, development work requires weeks of intense, uninterrupted focus until it reaches its own 'boiling point.' The unspoken rule among developers is that after achieving a breakthrough, they can rest for as much time as they invested.

For companies researching and developing AI, outperforming overseas competitors while adhering to the 52-hour workweek seems like an impossible mission-almost as miraculous as boiling water at 70 degrees. The development cycle in the AI industry is getting shorter and shorter, but the daily 8-hour and weekly work hour restrictions continue to hold companies back. Some, concerned about workers' health rights, argue that simply hiring more people could solve the problem.

Unfortunately, development work is not like simple manufacturing; results are not proportional to the number of people involved. Even if several junior developers are hired, their combined output cannot match that of a single experienced developer-this is a defining characteristic of AI development. Industry insiders unanimously agree that simply increasing headcount is not the answer for high-level development work, even if it might suffice for more basic tasks.

"Even Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, reportedly eats and sleeps at the office, working 16 hours a day..." Not only in the United States but also in China, companies are pouring their passion into AI technology development around the clock. To catch up with these two powerhouses, who also have overwhelming financial resources, at the very least, time must be invested. However, Korea's labor standards law prevents this. AI companies that are already falling behind in the race warn that, if this continues, Korea will inevitably become increasingly marginalized.

While the Ministry of Science and ICT and even the Presidential Office are vocal about the need to foster the AI industry, they avoid addressing the urgent issue of making exceptions to the 52-hour rule.

True labor flexibility begins with granting autonomy tailored to the characteristics of each industry. There are industries, such as construction and manufacturing, where strict work hour limits are essential to protect workers' safety and lives. However, applying the same standard to high-value-added industries like AI is an outdated notion.

With time-based monitoring and supervision, it is impossible to secure leadership in future industries. The law must be amended as soon as possible to allow exceptions to the 52-hour rule and give the AI industry room to breathe. If action is delayed, domestic AI companies may soon find themselves with no place left in the market.