Kim Se-jik, the head of the Korea Development Institute (KDI), holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, where his advisor was Nobel laureate Robert Lucas. He has taught economics at Seoul National University. With his extensive education, he believed he had secured his career. However, a competitor emerged that was not mentioned in his insurance policy: artificial intelligence (AI).
One of Kim's strengths was his ability to solve complex mathematical problems. In economics, a good idea must be proven through mathematical modeling to be considered for publication. This expertise was honed through years of training. Yet, a mathematical model verification that would take him half a day was completed by AI in about three minutes. Once provided with the model's basic settings, AI could also solve it.
Kim described this as both a significant threat and an opportunity for his profession. The threat is clear: skills developed over decades have been reduced to mere minutes of work. The opportunity lies in the fact that a new era has emerged where one can write “one paper a day” if the idea is good. While the quality of papers still needs to be validated, the barriers of time and technical skill required to translate thoughts into papers have been significantly lowered.
In economic terms, this can be summarized as follows: what becomes common decreases in value, while what becomes rare increases in value. AI has made the execution of known methods commonplace. Conversely, the ability to decide what to research and which problems to solve has become more valuable. The changes experienced by professors at Seoul National University are not unique to academia; similar transformations are occurring for office workers writing reports, planners analyzing markets, executives making investment decisions, and policymakers crafting regulations.
Kim's concepts of 'imitative human capital' and 'creative human capital' explain this shift. Imitative capital refers to the ability to learn and apply existing knowledge and skills, while creative capital pertains to the ability to generate new ideas independently. AI drives down the value of imitative skills while elevating the value of creative skills.
It is also important to note that AI can generate ideas. Whether it’s ten or a hundred, it can produce as many as requested.
Thus, the remaining tasks for humans are not to increase the number of ideas but to identify important issues, sift through plausible suggestions to find those that fit reality, and take responsibility for executing and delivering results. I believe that creative capability is defined as the 'power to conceive, filter, and realize ideas.'
This shift also changes the meaning of expertise. Kim's ability to trust and utilize AI's solutions stems from his capacity to discern whether those solutions are correct. Years of study have not become obsolete; rather, their role has changed. The focus has shifted from performing calculations to asking questions and reviewing answers. What has been learned remains a valuable resource, but the critical factor now is 'what can be created with that resource.'
The challenge lies in the fact that while our society excels at accumulating resources, it lacks training in creating new things from them. This is understandable, as Korea's growth formula has historically been to quickly learn and catch up with the technologies and knowledge of advanced countries.
Schools rewarded students who quickly found correct answers, and companies recognized employees who accurately learned the methods of their predecessors. In those times, this was a rational choice. However, the skills used for catching up are now provided cheaply by AI. It is unrealistic to expect the same results using the same methods.
What needs to change is the criteria for evaluating people. Individuals act according to evaluation standards, not slogans.
Schools should revise their assessment methods. In addition to whether students answered correctly, they should also be evaluated on the questions they posed and how they articulated their thoughts. Students should be given opportunities to experiment with changing wheels or considering entirely different uses for a toy car they assembled according to instructions. Experience in tackling open-ended problems is essential for succeeding in an era without clear answers.
In workplaces, evaluation criteria and promotion lists must also be revised. It is necessary to check for precedents, but then ask, “Is this still the right approach?” If new attempts only bring burdens while those who follow established practices are promoted, employees will not take risks.
The responsibilities of executives are even heavier. For a president of Samsung Electronics, the goal should extend beyond reducing costs with AI to envisioning new products and services that encourage customers to open their wallets. Instead of merely following competitors' popular products, they must identify and address customer inconveniences that have yet to be articulated. Testing on a small scale and adjusting based on feedback is also necessary. It is the executive's job to recognize potential in employee suggestions and invest time and resources accordingly.
Political leaders face similar challenges. AI can quickly compile dozens of international policy examples. However, it is up to the president, ministers, and lawmakers to determine which of these are relevant to our reality and whether any issues have been overlooked. Convincing the public, executing policies, and being accountable for results cannot be delegated to AI. The higher the position, the more one must seek new answers rather than relying on familiar ones.
Kim Se-jik emphasized, “We must not only think about AI but also consider HI (Human Idea).”
HI refers to human ideas, the thoughts generated by individuals themselves. Just as much attention should be devoted to nurturing human thought as is given to training in the introduction and utilization of AI.
Students must express their thoughts in front of exam papers, employees in front of work tasks, and executives and presidents in decision-making situations. In the age of AI, competitiveness is shifting from 'how much one has learned' to 'what new things one can create with what has been learned.'
* This article has been translated by AI.
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