Note from the Editor This is part of our 73rd anniversary series, which examines the various ways AI is transforming human civilization, as well as the ethical, societal, and economic ramifications. In addition, while navigating the new world of AI-driven transformations, we will emphasize the opportunities and challenges of human-AI interaction.
Is the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) technology beneficial or detrimental to the workforce? Will AI eventually replace human workers? These are some of the most often asked questions about the possible implications of generative AI (gen-AI) technologies, which may frighten most employees and make them worry their job security.
While some pessimistic voices call for a ban on the use of various gen-AI programs, including ChatGPT models, expressing concerns about the emergence of uncontrollable AI programs in the future, most AI experts remain optimistic that with the help of advanced AI models, humans can strengthen their uniquely creative capabilities and achieve more innovation.
Nonetheless, they predict an unavoidable phase of labor market rearrangement in the medium term, as companies increasingly adopt the latest AI advances.
“I frequently consult on AI tools for businesses, and I’ve noticed divergent perspectives on AI adoption among corporate executives and employees.” Executives are very interested in AI deployment to lower the workforce, whilst employees are more concerned with boosting their capabilities through the use of various AI tools. With these opposing viewpoints, I believe it is unavoidable that the job market will be restructured,” Suh Seung-wan, CEO of Yumeta Lab, an AI prompt engineering consulting organization, told The Korea Times.
This viewpoint is shared by Oh Se-uk, a primary researcher at the Korea Press Foundation who has worked on several research projects involving gen-AI technologies. He believes that people are overestimating what AI can do right now.
“The current level of gen-AI tools is more akin to having a secretary; if you give them the right command, they can implement it, just like business assistants.” “I believe AIs will play a supporting role rather than forming a major occupational group,” Oh told The Korea Times over the phone.
“Humans will eventually do what only humans can do,” he said, referring to the Second and Third Industrial Revolutions.
Humans will eventually do what only humans can do, as witnessed in the Second and Third Industrial Revolutions. Oh Se-uk, Korea Press Foundation researcher
Another AI and big data specialist, Chang Joong-ho, a professor at Seoul School of Integrated Sciences & Technologies (aSSIST), stressed that the only realistic response to the labor market dangers posed by gen-AIs will be additional innovation and market expansion.
“Workers resisted mechanization during the Industrial Revolution out of fear of losing their jobs.” While it is true that AI and robotics will naturally take over many occupations, what we need to do is promote sectors and enhance the size of the overall pie, rather than stifle these technologies,” Chang told The Korean Times.
He admitted that the Industrial Revolution eliminated farming jobs, but emphasized that the innovations in general enlarged industries greatly.
“While there may be temporary hardships and challenges, in response to AI technologies, we must expand the overall economic pie.” Rather than imposing excessive regulation on these technologies, the emphasis should be on supporting innovation as a driving force to generate more enterprises and develop industries,” he said, adding that barring or prohibiting gen-AI would be ineffective.
Instead of placing strict regulations on next-generation AI technologies, the emphasis should be on encouraging innovation as a driving force in the creation of new enterprises and the expansion of industries in order to increase the overall size of the economy. Chang Joong-ho, aSSIST professor
Legal firms face legal technology challenges.
While it is widely assumed that AI and automation technologies will primarily affect occupations that perform simple tasks, such as machine operators and administrative assistants, what impact will they have on law firms and accounting firms, which are known for providing highly sophisticated professional services?
According to Oh, current-generation AI technology is incapable of performing extremely specific tasks that necessitate skilled fact judgment. His assessment of gen-AI technologies’ poor capacity to provide advanced legal and accounting services is generally echoed in the positions of major Korean law firms.
Despite these flaws and restrictions, the majority of the country’s leading law firms are well prepared for greater integration of AI technology into their services, which range from e-discovery and statutory analysis to translation. Overall, they recognize that AI can not only supplement some simple duties performed by lawyers with less expertise but also contribute to the development of systemic analytical tools that facilitate legal tasks conducted by senior lawyers.
For example, Lee & Ko, one of Korea’s top three law firms, has finished the development of a big data learning system and has integrated numerous AI technologies into its working methods.
“Lee & Ko has recently greatly improved efficiency, convenience, and accuracy in its operations through active adoption of legal tech,” Kim Sang-gon, the firm’s managing partner, told The Korea Times.
“Since 2022, the firm has been implementing robotic process automation (RPA) solutions for tasks such as case searching, news monitoring, and time management,” Kim noted, adding that the firm has been actively employing its own AI translator since earlier this year.
The legal firm is also in the process of establishing its own digital billing system solution, and the company has formed and deployed a ChatGPT task force team to assess the technology’s potential applications and limitations.
Yulchon, another prominent law firm, has a legal tech research and development branch called eYulchon.
eYulchon has a plethora of experience producing apps in the fields of tax consulting services, taxation, construction, and pharmaceutical compliance. It just created an effective compliance system in the global healthcare business.
Yulchon emphasizes that its legal tech department is conducting research and development on ChatGPT-related applications in collaboration with U.S.-based AI developers, as well as strengthening its network with U.K. law firms that are considering rolling out Harvey, an OpenAI- startup that uses AI tech to provide legal industry solutions.
However, Son Do-il, head of IP and technology practice at Yulchon and a member of the Ministry of Science and ICT’s AI guideline task force, pointed out that Korea has a unique legal landscape in which a significant amount of legal information, such as specifics of corporate agreements and details of precedents, remains closed to the public, making AI-based solutions more difficult to develop.
“While AI solutions can replace some of the simple tasks performed by junior associates and thus save time, they cannot replace actual humans.” Such systems also necessitate intensive training and fees for each legal company in order to be consistently developed and deployed, and it raises another challenge for law companies in terms of efficiency,” Son explained over the phone to The Korea Times.
AI in Accounting Firms
Major accounting companies are generally well aware of the need to leverage AI capabilities. The worldwide major four accounting firms, Deloitte, PwC, EY, and KPMG, invested a combined $9 billion in AI technology in 2020, and AI technologies are projected to be used in a greater percentage of accounting firms’ corporate audit procedures in the near future.
According to the corporation, KPMG has been proactively taking the lead with KPMG Clara, a smart audit platform that is a global accounting industry first. KPMG member firms around the world, including Samjong KPMG in Korea, are currently using this technology to undertake innovative and cloud-based audits.
KPMG Clara combines data analysis and cognitive skills to improve audit insight and accuracy. It also offers predictive analytics to examine corporate prospects and risks, resulting in high-quality accounting audits.
There is also a Lighthouse center at Samjong KPMG, which is made up of a varied team of solution developers, comprising professionals in AI, data science, software engineering, and programming. This center is dedicated to developing cutting-edge technology to improve operational efficiency in Samjong KPMG’s services.
“By automating traditional repetitive tasks and reallocating time to designing and executing evidence-based procedures to address significant risks, the company is increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of audits.”
“The firm will also continue to lead IT audit innovation by leveraging AI technologies, with the goal of creating an environment conducive to performing high-quality audits efficiently,” a KPMG official told The Korea Times.
However, industry insiders have pointed out that local rules on corporate audits need to be amended in order for accounting firms to boost their use of AI technologies.
“Most major accounting firms’ current use of AI tools is limited to automating simple, repetitive tasks or detecting abnormal, fraudulent accounting.” Because the increased use of AI solutions in corporate audits may cause legal issues due to the blurring of audit opinions’ responsibilities, a change in the local legal framework is required for accounting firms to widely accept and utilize the new gen-AI capabilities, according to an insider in the local accounting industry who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
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