[CES 2024] LG Electronics Jo Joo-wan: "AI is Empathic Intelligence... What Matters is Whether It Provides Practical Help"

LG Electronics Holds Conference a Day Before CES
Emphasizes AI Business Differentiation, the Key Theme of This Year's CES
Data Secured from Various Products as a Competitive Advantage
"Developing AI Engine 'LG AI Brain'"

Jo Joo-wan, CEO of LG Electronics, redefined artificial intelligence (AI) as 'Affectionate Intelligence.' He announced that LG Electronics' AI business direction is to have AI closely engage with users to provide practical assistance, and that the company will enhance its AI competitiveness to concretize its future vision.

Jo Joo-wan, CEO of LG Electronics [Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 8th (local time), LG Electronics held the 'LG World Premiere' at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, USA, under the theme 'Redefining the Future of Customers.' This event was a press conference held one day before the opening of CES 2024, the world's largest electronics and IT exhibition, and was broadcast live online with about 1,000 attendees including global media, industry officials, and visitors.

Regarding AI, a key area at this year's CES, CEO Jo said, "AI is one of the most essential elements to elevate customer experience to a completely new paradigm," adding, "Our focus is on how AI brings changes in real life and provides tangible benefits to customers."

He also introduced the meaning of AI from the perspective of customer experience and the differentiating features of LG's AI. He explained, "We have redefined AI as 'Affectionate Intelligence' in the sense that AI considers and empathizes with users to provide differentiated customer experiences." The characteristics of Affectionate Intelligence include ▲real-time life intelligence, ▲coordination and orchestration intelligence, and ▲responsibility intelligence.

Data Secured Through 700 Million Products Worldwide is a Competitive Advantage

The 'real-time life intelligence' highlighted by CEO Jo is related to LG Electronics' AI data differentiation. He pointed out that since about 700 million LG products are used in various spaces worldwide, there is a great advantage in learning and analyzing users' physical and emotional life patterns using this data. "While most companies rely on internet data, LG Electronics can utilize real-time data collected from billions of smart products and Internet of Things (IoT) devices," he explained.

In particular, LG Electronics' life data can include not only interactions between devices but also customers' surrounding environments, behavior patterns, voice tones, conversational nuances, and emotional states such as facial expressions. CEO Jo emphasized, "Through multidimensional data, we can learn valuable life knowledge and customer-related insights," adding, "This is a unique asset and a clear differentiator that is hard to find in many companies."

The LG Electronics exhibition hall at CES 2024, opening on the 9th (local time) in Las Vegas, USA / Photo by LG Electronics

The second differentiator pointed out by CEO Jo is the 'LG AI Brain.' LG Electronics is currently developing a powerful AI engine with a coordination process called the LG AI Brain. The LG AI Brain is characterized by generating solutions that physically harmonize interconnected devices and induce optimized operating methods.

He explained, "The LG AI Brain understands the context of conversations, behavior patterns, emotions, and predicts customer needs, followed by an advanced reasoning process based on a proprietary large language model (LLM)." He added, "Because it customizes and coordinates various devices in living spaces according to customer tastes and preferences, we call this the 'coordination and orchestration function.'"

The third key differentiator in implementing Affectionate Intelligence is responsibility intelligence. CEO Jo stated, "We will apply LG Electronics' proprietary data security system, 'LG Shield,' throughout the entire process of collecting, storing, and utilizing customer data," assuring, "All data will be securely protected."

He also explained that in increasing AI utilization, "We know well how to take responsibility for AI decisions and actions, how to ensure AI operates equally without bias and discrimination, and how to protect and control data used by AI," promising to manage AI under strict standards.

Meanwhile, Jung Ki-hyun, head of LG Electronics' Platform Business Center, and Eun Seok-hyun, head of LG Electronics' VS Business Division, also appeared as speakers that day to introduce the company's AI-based innovative technologies and strategies. Jung Ki-hyun presented a future smart home blueprint based on AI. He expressed the intention to embed Affectionate Intelligence technology into the smart home platform 'LG ThinQ' to offer a truly smart life solution.

Eun Seok-hyun introduced LG's SDV solution 'AlphaWare,' saying, "LG Electronics is configuring automobiles as 'wheeled living spaces' driven by software-defined vehicle (SDV) solutions." LG AlphaWare features include human-machine interface solutions that complete immersive vehicle experiences through various technologies.

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