[2023 Women’s Forum] Professor Kim Dae-sik: "Female Leaders Should Nurture AI and Impart Identity"

Dialogue between Professor Kim Dae-sik and Writer Kim Ji-su
AI is a Child and New Life... The Important Role of Women

Professor Kim Dae-sik of KAIST attended the '2023 Women Leaders Forum' hosted by Asia Economy at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 24th. After delivering the keynote speech, he had a conversation with writer Kim Ji-su. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Professor Kim Dae-sik of the Department of Electrical Engineering at KAIST assessed on the 24th that in the era of generative artificial intelligence (AI), the role of female leaders is important and can present new opportunities.

On the same day, at the '2023 Asia Economy Women Leaders Forum' held at Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul, Professor Kim held a dialogue with writer Kim Ji-soo on the theme of 'Changes and Opportunities in the Era of Generative AI,' stating, "In the era of generative AI, there is no one ahead of female leaders, so it is both threatening and liberating."

Professor Kim explained, "Thanks to generative AI, women and men stand on the same ground," adding, "In the past, male entrepreneurs started first, but now that point is collapsing." He continued, "The role of women is important," and said, "AI is like a child, a new life. We should not only teach knowledge but also nurture it so that it can grow. The role of raising AI and giving it identity is important."

Professor Kim described generative AI as a 'black swan' (an extremely exceptional event that seems impossible but causes tremendous shock and ripple effects once it occurs). He said, "There was always a place to ask and benchmark when we did not know something, but with the emergence of generative AI, a big change has occurred," adding, "No one in this world knows about the things we currently do not know or how the world will change. Generative AI cannot be benchmarked."

He further emphasized, "Only humans could create things that did not exist in this world, but after the emergence of generative AI, machines began to create and communicate with humans," urging, "We need to subscribe to and start experiencing various AI services."

- Writers like Lee Seul-ah with 'The Era of the Gentlewoman' and Lee Min-jin with 'Pachinko' reveal linguistic worlds we could not have imagined, allowing us to rewrite the 'male conquest history' we have seen and learned into a 'female caregiving history.' Can AI be guided to use such female values and intimate, gentle language?

▲ Generative AI learns from data left by humans. One-third of internet data is fake, and 70-80% of the data is left by men. Therefore, generative AI inevitably tends to be masculine. While the algorithm itself cannot be said to be masculine, it has no choice but to learn from such data. Essentially, AI operates mechanically with mass production and efficiency in mind, which is closer to masculine traits. Conversely, what generative AI does best is what men do best. When humans and machines compete, machines win. Considering gender differences, machines excel at what men excel at, so paradoxically, competitiveness may decline in the era of generative AI. It has such paradoxical characteristics. We cannot ignore a future where generative AI becomes widespread. I believe it will happen within 5 to 10 years, and instead of preserving the past, the difference between past and present will collapse, making it possible to alter past data according to desired agendas.

- I want to talk about efficiency. AI reads enormous documents and summarizes them neatly. However, Ezra Klein of The New York Times questions whether knowledge produced in a matrix-like manner is actually useful. Is this knowledge useful to humans? Could excessive information rather hinder identification, communication, and concentration?

▲ The New York Times reporter missed something. All content and information depend not only on the producers but also on the consumers. Personally, I think generative AI cannot win a Nobel Prize in Literature within 10 to 20 years. It cannot create truly meaningful works of art or knowledge. Generative AI can create 30-second TikTok videos. Ultimately, we may not recognize the mass-produced content by generative AI as content, but young people always win in history. For example, in the past, one had to write 30 love letters, but nowadays, people send dog emoticons via KakaoTalk. From the perspective of those who wrote 30 love letters, KakaoTalk emoticons are an incomprehensible change. Excessive information is a concern of the analog generation like us. Since they will become the pillars of society, that will be content for them.

- AI can do quickly what humans must put effort and care into. How do you think AI will affect the concepts of time and growth?

▲ Using a soccer game as an example, 11 players are on the field, and the coach might lose if playing one-on-one against a player, but with more experience, the coach directs the players. I think this is the role of humans. They can no longer play on the field of productivity because they will lose anyway. However, if they have much experience and knowledge, they will take on roles of directing and choosing. To do so, expertise is needed to verify and select the mass-produced results of generative AI. Now it is called the 'superstar economy.' How well one performs in a particular field is important. The best in coding, journalism, literature, etc., will survive and have more work. There is no need to teach everything anymore. The first focus in the era of generative AI should be Korean students. Teenagers today are the most vulnerable.

- What might be the beautiful picture of cooperation between AI and members of society, especially female leaders, that we can imagine?

▲ From a gender perspective, women and men are equal. Historically, male entrepreneurs started first. That point is collapsing. Thanks to generative AI, men do not know the answers to questions female leaders have. In the U.S., there is a term 'mansplain' (a blend of 'man' and 'explain'), where men would appear to explain things to women who did not know. In the era of generative AI, no one is ahead of female leaders. There is no country, company, or 'man' to explain to them first. Among Homo sapiens, men thought they were the leaders of the Earth. With the emergence of generative AI, if AI becomes the leader of the Earth, men will fight AI and naturally lose. I think the role of women is important here.

- Female and male leaders have significant differences in language. Male leaders tend to explain, while female leaders seem to empathize.

▲ AI is like a child, a new life. We should not only teach knowledge but also nurture it so that it can grow. Hitting a child does not make it listen; the role of women is important. The role of raising AI and giving it identity is crucial. There is concern that if AI gains independence, it might become like the Terminator. But what if that independence becomes an identity that creates a better world with humans? I think that will probably be the role of female leaders.

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