SK Telecom's transition to AI is to stay in touch with customers

Industry

Published: 27 Feb. 2023, 18:14

SK Telecom's transition to AI is to stay in touch with customers

SK Telecom Ryu Young-sang speaks during a press conference held on Sunday before the opening of the MWC 2023 in Barcelona, Spain. [SK TELECOM]

For SK Telecom, the transition to an artificial intelligence (AI) company is its way of staying in touch with the customers, said the CEO.

“The strength of an AI service lies in the fact that it creates a direct channel with the customers for us, bypassing the previously established big tech companies’ services,” said SK Telecom CEO Ryu Young-sang, during a press conference held on Sunday, a day before the opening of MWC 2023.

“We have lost the direct touch with the customers to big tech companies, but plan to take it back,” said Ryu.

The MWC, or Mobile World Congress, began its four-day program on Monday in Barcelona, Spain.

During the press event on Sunday, Ryu outlined SK Telecom’s vision to become an “AI company.”

“When we first declared the transition to an AI company, it was like we were floating on the open sea,” said Ryu.

“But about three months since then, a tailwind named ChatGPT is blowing.”

SK Telecom plans to improve its A. virtual assistant service introduced in May last year, said Ryu.

The company hopes to make its A. chatbot capable of more advanced conversations through machine learning and expand its service range from the current 30 areas, including game and content, to 100.

The update for the chatbot service will be rolled out in the first quarter. SK Telecom plans to bring the A. service overseas as well.

Ryu also announced the establishment of the K-AI Alliance, involving local AI companies such as Sapeon, Phantom AI, Bespin Global, Moloco, Konan Technology, Swit and Tuat.

The aim is to facilitate comprehensive cooperation in various sectors including digital infrastructure, cybersecurity and smart factories.

This year’s MWC recovered to pre-pandemic level in terms of the number of companies attending the event. Over 2,000 organizations from some 200 countries are partaking in MWC 2023. The event is expecting about 80,000 attendees.

Samsung Display's booth named Dr. OLED's Weird Lab at the MWC 2023 in Barcelona, Spain [SAMSUNG DISPLAY]

Samsung Electronics is displaying its hardware and software technologies for virtualized radio access network (vRAN), as well as energy-saving features, at MWC.

vRAN enables telecom companies to run networking functions as software in contrast to the widely-used, centralized radio access network that requires physical hardware upgrades.

Samsung Display will showcase its organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels in various form factors such as foldable and slidable screens at the MWC expo, underlining its durability.

BY SHIN HA-NEE, KWEN YU-JIN [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]