Seoul: Google's diversified artificial intelligence (AI) tools, designed to support human creativity through multilingual and multicultural models, are well-positioned to thrive in South Korea's mature and tech-savvy market, a senior official from the U.S. tech giant said Wednesday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Simon Tokumine, director at Google Labs, stated during a press conference ahead of the Google for Korea event in Seoul that there is still significant scope for growth in South Korea's generative AI space, which is currently dominated by OpenAI's ChatGPT. Tokumine highlighted South Korea's historical role in technological revolutions, such as the rise of the internet and the global spread of smartphones, as a foundation for future AI advancements.
Tokumine emphasized that in South Korea's advanced market, the focus should be on offering more sophisticated, user-tailored products rather than merely capturing early market share in the generative AI era. He mentioned that AI-powered tools are now driving a third wave of innovation aimed at enhancing both creativity and productivity.
He discussed the potential of AI technology to evolve by understanding and outputting multimodal information, possessing memory, and taking action. As these capabilities mature, Tokumine believes they will unlock new types of products. He cited Google's upcoming AI tools, such as NotebookLM and Mind Map, which assist users in managing information and organizing ideas, as examples of the company's next-gen offerings.
To appeal to Korean users and a global audience, Google is focusing on training its AI models to generate culturally nuanced and contextually appropriate responses. Manish Gupta, senior director at Google DeepMind, explained that the company uses various sources, including YouTube videos, to gain insights into different cultures, enhancing the cultural understanding of their AI models.