With all of this blockchain buzz, it’s easy to forget that there are other major technological sectors being developed as we speak and may completely disrupt our preconceptions of living in the coming years. One of those frontrunners is artificial intelligence - self-driving cars, life-life humanoids, and all manners of responsive technologies that can govern our experiences. However blockchain and token systems might affect this emerging industry, its definitely we should keep a societal eye on in the coming years. I imagine it’ll be similar to the establishment of solar technology in the mainstream - talked about theoretically for the longest time, then all of sudden everyone has a hybrid car and a few panels on their roofs.
Source: CDN0
And the reason I bring it up is that currently, South Korea holds the third highest number of AI patents in the world, only trailing the US (the leader in all patents) and China. Korea’s economic development has proven to successful when hyper-focused on a number of industries that are seemingly unrelated - i.e. shipping systems, semi-conductors, skin treatment/plastic surgery, probiotics, flashy music videos - yet all really draw on the abundant human resource of Korean comprehension. Artificial Intelligence might be that next powerhouse play that stamps Korea’s prowess onto the world stage.
It makes sense for conglomerates such as Samsung and SK Telekom to compete with Chinese phone company Huawei to dominant the responsive phone market or Hyundai to after the self-driving car market in opposition to Google’s dominance. More so that beautiful AI or nice new design features, the brand new capacity for electronics to integrate more with our human impulses is without a doubt the most enviable horizon for these companies.
Our Digital Honor
The issue is also a personal one. Korean’s aren’t well known for being magnanimous and letting go of personal grudges and the AlphaGo stunt was no trifling manner. The event proved that the resource that Korean’s valued above all else - the human resource of hyper-education - was coming under fire by this electronic competitor. If a robot could best a Korean at the game of Go, arguably the most difficult game of comprehension in history, than there would nothing the country could defend in the onslaught of Skynet.
Source: Disruption Hub
But in all seriousness, Koreans have always been dubbed the “fast followers” of the developing world. The country has been able to appropriate major emerging sectors and to jumpstart them on home ground. This has been a largely successful strategy but it has engendered a real desire to beat the world the punch every once in a while. With major telecom, electronics, and manufacturing industries advanced to the point of a 0th-world nation, Korea might just be equipped to rally beyond competitors with this one.
Source: Business Insider
Real Life Applications
Yes yes, we all know that people will buy sex robots by the droves in the future. We’ve already witnessed a major shift from flesh to silicone. I can’t imagine this will be any less of a reality for Korea in the near future.
Source: ZDNet
But there are also major applications of robotic thinking in other facets of Korean society. The DMZ (De-Militarized Zone between South and North) is one place where military officials are already preparing for some helpful AI. The tedious job of border patrol could easily be manned by armed robots. I do hope they name them all Arnold…
Source: Pinterest
The same goes for service industries that make up a bulk of Korea’s domestic dealings. We’ll soon see the world around us robofied.
A Cyborg Future
So what do you think? Will South Korea be a frontrunner in this new market? Let me know your thoughts below!
