[The Editors' Verdict] The Butterfly Effect of Untact Technology Transforming the World

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is completely changing our lives. Among the various changes discussed in the post-COVID era, the most notable is Untact. Untact technology, which was once just one of the many technologies in the ICT field, has evolved through the COVID-19 crisis into a technology that influences multiple industries and cultures. The term 'Untact' is a newly coined word combining the negative prefix 'un-' with 'contact,' meaning non-face-to-face (non-contact). Although it was used among IT experts even before COVID-19, it has now become widely used by the general public.

Before the outbreak of COVID-19, in January of this year, a large corporation consulted about wanting to introduce and utilize Untact technology. At that time, the term Untact was somewhat unfamiliar to the general public, but now hardly anyone is unaware of it. Initially, IT experts pondered where and how to apply Untact technology, but now Untact technology has expanded into the Untact industry, and its share in our industry and economy is rapidly growing to the extent that it is called the Untact economy. Recently, terms like Untact culture and Untact trend have also emerged.

Companies that effectively utilize Untact technology and trends are growing rapidly. Untact is leading industrial restructuring as the new normal in areas such as online shopping, remote medical care, education, and finance, accelerating the shift of consumption to internet and mobile shopping. Untact methods are also rapidly increasing in production and services, including telecommuting, video conferencing, and remote education. The world's largest e-commerce company, Amazon, hired an additional 200,000 employees due to surging orders, and the real-time streaming company Netflix added 15.8 million new subscribers in the first quarter. The combined market capitalization share of Amazon, Netflix, and Microsoft (MS) in the entire Nasdaq increased from 16.3% at the end of last year to 20.4% in April.

Untact cafes (unmanned cafes) have also appeared domestically. Untact cafes where robot baristas make coffee and delivery robots serve customers have opened and are operating. While there have been several places where barista robots made coffee, the unmanned cafe that opened in May operates 24 hours unmanned by having a barista robot make coffee and a delivery robot deliver it. Attention should be paid to the fact that robots are collaborating with each other. It is said that an unmanned robot cafe has also opened in Shanghai, China, and is operating successfully.

Untact is also being introduced in mobile phone stores. SK Telecom is launching Untact unmanned stores following telecommuting and hub offices. SK Telecom plans to open an Untact unmanned store within the year where customers can activate and experience mobile phones. The industries applying Untact are rapidly expanding, and our society, culture, and business models are changing. These changes are spreading rapidly worldwide. Therefore, we must now consider where and how to apply Untact. Business models are also changing, and we need to find business models suitable for the new Untact era.

All economic actors, including individuals, companies, administrative agencies, and public institutions, must understand and utilize Untact to survive. Our government must also present countermeasures for an Untact society. Although most companies are struggling due to COVID-19, new opportunities can open if Untact is well utilized. We hope that the crisis caused by COVID-19 can become an opportunity for our economy to leap forward through Untact.

Moon Hyung-nam, Professor and Head of Graduate School of Business, Sookmyung Women's University; Co-chair of the National AI Movement Headquarters

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.