Lee Jung-woo, who couldn’t just sit still watching Jang Yoo-chul proceed with a massive project, announced something he had been preparing for a long time.
『Artificial Intelligence, Challenging the Go World!』
This was actually the product of the imagination that his older brother Lee Hyun-woo had mentioned a long time ago.
However, the idea that intelligence created by systems or machines could surpass human learning ability, judgment, and perception was not easy to achieve.
There were countless moments of frustration along the way.
Each time he wanted to give up, Lee Hyun-woo encouraged him.
“One day, you’ll definitely succeed. I believe in you.”
In truth, Lee Hyun-woo, who had experienced artificial intelligence defeating Go players in his previous life, spoke to his brother with conviction.
Unaware of this, Lee Jung-woo got back on his feet and continued his research, ultimately creating ‘Komnoe’, which mimicked human brain neurons.
The English version of this name is ComBrain.
As the name suggests, Komnoe is a combination of the computer’s ‘com’ and the human brain’s ‘brain’.
Komnoe is the product of neural network-based artificial intelligence research through deep learning, eventually making it possible to compete with Go players.
However, it wasn’t possible to compete with top-tier Go players right away.
Komnoe still needed to learn more.
As it repeatedly won against mid-level Go players, Komnoe continued to evolve, and finally, the day came when it could aim higher.
“Hyung, this guy can finally compete with decent masters.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, but the problem is that the masters might not accept the challenge.”
“Probably because they’re afraid of losing. But keep knocking on doors.”
Lee Jung-woo had anticipated his brother’s answer.
He asked, knowing it, to prepare himself for the numerous rejections he would face.
So, as soon as he parted ways with his brother, he instructed his secretaries to find the contact information of the nine-dan players.
‘I need to persuade them in person, not through someone else.’
With this thought, he soon met with one of the nine-dan players and requested a match with Komnoe.
He was flatly rejected.
‘I expected this.’
The second player was Lee Ho-chang, another nine-dan. He too showed reluctance and shook his head.
The problem began from there.
Word must have spread, as the Go community stopped answering calls.
Even when he managed to connect, they made excuses about being busy and refused to meet.
Despite informing them through his secretaries that they would be generously compensated for the match, they didn’t readily accept.
‘I understand. I would have done the same.’
Lee Jung-woo didn’t give up and persistently reached out.
Finally, one player agreed to meet.
(Alright, let’s do it.)
It was Lee Sam-suk, a relatively young Go player who seemed open-minded, making Lee Jung-woo clench his fists.
‘No, it’s not time to celebrate yet. He might still refuse after meeting.’
Of course, inwardly, his expectations grew.
The two players he met before had come out without knowing much. They politely refused Lee Jung-woo’s request to compete with Komnoe.
This time was different. Lee Sam-suk knew that Lee Jung-woo was personally meeting Go players and came out.
Doesn’t that mean he’s somewhat decided?
‘Good. I’ll do my best to persuade him. Even if he refuses, don’t give up, and don’t get discouraged.’
Encouraging himself this way, he went out on the promised day, showing as much respect as possible, and said to him,
“Sir, please accept a match with Komnoe”
Then Lee Sam-suk was silent for 1 or 2 seconds, took a sip of tea, and asked,
“I’m curious about one thing. Why do people want to create artificial intelligence?”
To that question, Lee Jung-woo smiled and answered as respectfully as possible,
“I can’t speak for others, but I want to prove that artificial intelligence can be safe and helpful.”
“It can be helpful, but safe? Hmm, that’s very different from the movies or articles I’ve seen.”
“Indeed, movies and books warn us that artificial intelligence will one day pose a great threat to humanity.”
“Well… yes, that’s right.”
“So, I want to talk about the positive aspects. Through this Go AI.”
Lee Sam-suk quietly observed Lee Jung-woo.
In fact, it would be a lie to say he wasn’t influenced by Hollywood movies where robots come from the future.
Most people have been warned about artificial intelligence through movies or books since childhood, and Lee Sam-suk was no different.
However, even without such science fiction and fantasy, many recently warned him.
You’re meeting with Lee Jung-woo, right?
Yes, that’s right.
What are you going to do when you meet? You’re not actually going to play a match against the AI Go, are you?
I’m going to try.
Hey, what if you lose? This isn’t just your problem.
It’s not just my problem? Are you saying that if I lose, people will look down on Go players?
Of course. And eventually, our jobs will end. No one will care about humans who lost to machines.
Lee Sam-suk laughed inwardly at his senior’s concern about losing his job after being defeated by AI.
‘People are already losing interest in Go.’
In the past, it was said that 30% of the population knew how to play Go, but at some point, Go was losing people’s interest.
It wasn’t particularly the fault of the Go community.
The era became more complex, and more entertaining options continued to emerge, pushing Go down in priority.
So, he thought it might be better to use his match against AI to promote Go to people.
Win or lose, just playing a match against AI would be a hot topic.
This was the reason Lee Sam-suk came here, and the question he just posed was to apply the threat of AI more broadly.
‘This person’s goal is to prove how safe AI is?’
Then how will he ensure that Go players who might lose their jobs can make a living?
Despite seeing Lee Sam-suk’s disappointed expression, Lee Jung-woo calmly spoke.
“Personally, I believe there’s no stronger existence than humans. No matter how advanced AI becomes, it will ultimately be under human control.”
“That sounds too vague to me.”
“I’m sorry if it sounded that way. Of course, I understand Go players’ concerns about being unable to recover if they lose to AI.”
“…….”
“Actually, I believe AI will overwhelmingly win. But will Go players disappear just because they lose to AI? No, won’t they disappear if they keep avoiding the fight?”
“……!”
“The crisis of Go didn’t come from the birth of AI. You know that, right?”
“Hmm…”
Suddenly, there was nothing more to say. In fact, Lee Jung-woo’s words were exactly what he had been thinking.
“So, we need to focus on marketing first. I promise, I’ll flood the portals and broadcasts with stories about you and Komnoe.”
Though he was pouring more passion than courtesy into his words, they were the most exciting words Lee Sam-suk had heard.
“Then, the happy circuits that follow aren’t bad either. Regardless of win or lose, I’ll raise the viewership and buzz to the level of popular dramas or entertainment shows. If the first match doesn’t work, I’ll continue with a second, and if that’s not enough, even a third match.”
By the way, the match Lee Jung-woo proposed was a best-of-three series.
However, it didn’t seem like just a one-off event. Lee Jung-woo was mentioning second and third matches.
“If you win against AI, how will the world react? They’ll think, ‘AI still can’t beat humans,’ which I personally find boring, but I think it would be fine. It will create a buzz and end with human victory, which is different from the negative thoughts of Go players.”
“Then what if I lose?”
“Well, according to my brother, the world will be shocked. The impact will continue, and the buzz will grow bigger than before… My brother has a good imagination, so I tend to believe him. To add a bit more, my brother also asked this. Do you really think that after a professional Go master loses, all Go players will lose face and their jobs? I absolutely don’t think so. On the contrary, there will be a craze to learn Go. ‘I want to challenge the Go AI!’”
“Huh?”
“Yes, whether or not there’s a craze, we’ll continue to provide opportunities for Go players. Matches against AI. We also plan to nurture young talents. If they compete with AI from a young age, they might discover ways to win, don’t you think? If someone doesn’t believe in this, I have nothing more to say… But I think there will be quite a few jobs teaching young talents.”
For a moment, various pictures were drawn in Lee Sam-suk’s mind.
‘If this happens, it seems jobs won’t disappear.’
Listening to Lee Jung-woo’s grand plan, he seemed to be influenced by it.
At least, the job crisis arising from the birth of AI could turn into an opportunity.
So he said,
“Alright.”
“Yes?”
“I’ll do it. The match.”
“Really? You’ll really compete against Komnoe?”
“Yes, that’s right. If you keep your promises, I believe I should take the initiative.”
“Of course, I’ll keep my promises. I’ve never broken a promise, just like my brother.”
Lee Sam-suk smiled. His smile now contained trust.
However,
‘I understand that jobs will be safe, but I still can’t believe AI is safe.’
Lee Sam-suk didn’t get a perfect answer to his question.
Still influenced by SF movies and novels, he couldn’t shake off the image of AI ruling the human world someday.
On the other hand, Lee Jung-woo also found it difficult to explain AI safety in detail yet.
This wasn’t something that could be conveyed all at once.
‘But talking to my brother will make me feel better, right?’
A few days later, Lee Jung-woo went to see Lee Hyun-woo and received praise first.
“Congratulations. You finally made it.”
“Yeah. At first, I thought it wouldn’t work, but later my sincerity paid off.”
“Oh, Lee Sam-suk was initially negative?”
“Well… to be precise, he asked questions that were hard to answer.”
“Like what?”
“He genuinely believes AI is a real threat to humanity’s future. He probably didn’t say it outright, but he was imagining apocalyptic or dystopian scenarios.”
Nodding at his brother’s words, Lee Hyun-woo said,
“If AI evolves without a proper philosophy, that future could certainly come.”
“Right. So I’ll develop safe AI.”
“For example?”
“AI-powered healthcare? Or AI-based climate prediction?”
“You’re only talking about the good stuff. Hahaha.”
“Since movies, novels, and newspapers mostly show the bad side, I have to balance it out.”
He was right.
In fact, AI was a path that humanity would eventually have to take.
But if only negativity was emphasized, who would dare venture into it?
‘However, without a proper philosophy, it can indeed be dangerous.’
At least his brother was developing it, which was a relief.
Hopefully, it evolves positively and coexists well with humanity.
