[Asia Future Business Forum] "Considering How to Use ChatGPT... More Work for Senior-Level"

At the "2023 Asia Future Business Forum" held on the 17th at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, hosted by Asia Economy, Kwon Oh-hyung, CEO of FuturePlay, is giving a special lecture. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo

The emergence of ChatGPT is also changing the work environment of startups. AI professionals in the field unanimously said, "Senior-level employees actually have more work." This opinion differs from the common belief that ChatGPT has generally reduced the overall workload. Lee Won-gang, head of XL8 Korea, said, "We are having more meetings and discussions than before to leverage the opportunities ChatGPT provides," adding, "Rather than decreasing, the workload has actually increased compared to the past."

On this day, including CEO Lee, Kim Tae-hoon of DeepingSource, and Lee Hwal-seok, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Upstage, engaged in a heated discussion on the theme of "Startup Golden Ladder (Survival Skills)" about the changes brought by large AI models centered on ChatGPT. Kwon Oh-hyung, CEO of FuturePlay, served as the moderator. Those who are experiencing ChatGPT firsthand likened its current work level to that of an "intern" or "junior employee with less than three years of experience."

They drew a line, saying it is not yet at a level of sophisticated work beyond simple repetition. CTO Lee Hwal-seok said, "Within our company, we call ChatGPT an 'intern,'" and added, "We think of it as meeting the typical expectations for an intern." Looking ahead five years, he also said, "It could reach the level of a third-year employee."

At the "2023 Asia Future Business Forum" hosted by Asia Economy on the 17th at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, Kim Tae-hoon, CEO of DeepPingSource, is discussing the topic "Startup Hwanggeup Sadari (The Art of Survival)." Photo by Yoon Dong-joo

There is also an opinion that, as ChatGPT replaces simple repetitive tasks in companies, the workload for interns and junior employees has actually decreased, unlike for senior staff. CEO Kim said, "The reduction in simple organizing tasks is a phenomenon seen across all job sectors," and added, "Junior and new employees are losing tasks, and we are watching to see what changes this will bring in the future."

For developers, competition among those with less than five years of experience is expected to become fiercer. This is because the competitiveness of non-major developers who rode the 'coding education boom' during the COVID-19 pandemic may decline. CEO Kim said, "Much of the code being created nowadays is publicly available through open source, and generative AI writes code at an almost perfect level," adding, "Developers with less than five years of experience, whose jobs could be replaced, will have the greatest concerns."

As generative AI rapidly replaces junior-level tasks, significant changes in corporate hiring are also expected. CEO Lee said, "When I asked people coding in Silicon Valley, they said the time for simple coding has been reduced to one-eighth," adding, "The problem is that from a company's perspective, one person can now do the work that eight people used to do, so they don't need to hire seven people." In fact, the 'job invasion' caused by AI is already underway. IBM recently announced plans to halt or delay hiring 7,800 employees within the next five years.

At the "2023 Asia Future Business Forum" held on the 17th at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, hosted by Asia Economy, Lee Hwal-seok, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Upstage, is discussing the topic "Startup Hwanggeup Sadari (The Art of Survival)." Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

There was also an opinion that the industry most affected by the emergence of generative AI is the AI industry itself. CEO Kim explained, "Traditional industries tend to take a stance of indifference to whether ChatGPT appears or not, but it is true that AI startups are the most at risk," adding, "To survive here, startups sometimes take on the role of interfacing by moving into traditional industries."

At the roundtable discussion, CEO Kwon led the discussion by questioning the startup CEOs about the impact of generative AI on various industries and individuals, as well as the direction startups should take. CEO Kwon joked, "Actually, all the questions I asked today were generated using ChatGPT," adding, "I think a time will come in five years when panels or moderators won't be necessary."

At the "2023 Asia Future Business Forum" held on the 17th at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, hosted by Asia Economy, Lee Won-gang, head of XL8 Korea, is discussing the startup Hwanggeup Sadari (The Art of Survival). Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

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