“Korea should not stay optimistic about the 4th Industrial Revolution.”

SNU ECE Prof. Seongsoo Hong(55, picture), who is one of the leading experts in Korea on autonomous car AI programming languages, pointed out during an interview with Kyeongin Ilbo that arrogance is what we should be most wary of in domestic research related to the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Prof. Hong will make a speech on the topics of AI and future industries during the ‘Gyeonggi-do 4th Industrial Revolution Symposium’, held in Pangyo on November 1st~2nd.

He diagnosed the current situation, saying, “For AI, three fields including data, analysis algorithm, and computing platforms are important, but there is a deficiency in related technologies except for analysis algorithm. Also, investment and human resources are definitely lacking.”

He emphasized by adding that it is necessary to identify the cause as well as acknowledge the harsh reality, and to return to the basics.

He also warned the academia and industry that contrary to the enthusiasm toward the 4th Industrial Revolution, Korea’s technology is still in its infancy and that this is not the time for ill-founded optimism.

However, his such criticisms are advices based on hope for the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Prof. Hong said, “AI means that machines acquire the ability to learn and infer on their own. There is notable achievements in certain areas such as face recognition, in which machines are performing better than humans.”

He predicted, saying, “Because with deep learning technology it will be possible to provide personalized service that can impress each individual, this will have a huge impact on business.”

Prof. Seongsoo Hong suggested that collaboration among companies participating in the 4th Industrial Revolution is important. In other words, there is need for joint work among R&D companies and service providers.

He said, “As an immense amount of investment and time is necessary for AI tech, companies must knock down barriers and develop mutual cooperation.”

He added, “We did not have the key technology of cellular phones in the early stages, but later acquired competitiveness in the IT field. As in this example, we must concentrate on fields in which we can excel.”

Source: http://ee.snu.ac.kr/community/news?bm=v&bbsidx=48051
Translated by: Jee Hyun Lee, English Editor of Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, jlee621@snu.ac.kr