"We Don't Call Ourselves an AI Organization": GS Outlines Its Field-Centered AX Strategy

30 Hackathon Ideas Put into Practice, with 7 Fully Implemented

AIR and Cheki Adopted Across Affiliates; Power Plant-Specific Models in Development

Focus on Real-World Problems Over Jumping on the Generative AI Trend

"We try not to call ourselves an artificial intelligence (AI) organization. We are an 'innovation organization' that solves problems in the field and advances the company," she said.

On the 21st, Jina Kim, Executive Director at GS, outlined the company's AX strategy at the 5th GS Group Hackathon held at Westin Seoul Parnas in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Rather than simply jumping on the generative AI bandwagon, GS is focusing on identifying real-world problems in the field and connecting them with the most suitable technologies.

Jina Kim, Executive Director of GS, is interviewing with reporters at the 5th GS Group Hackathon held on the 21st at Westin Seoul Parnas in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. GS

At this year's hackathon, around 250 teams presented problems, and GS is grouping them by cause and reviewing them as company-wide improvement initiatives. Kim explained, "We focus less on the ideas themselves and more on the underlying problems people bring," adding, "For issues that are difficult to resolve at the employee level, we address them by changing the company's systems or processes."

Tangible results are also emerging. So far, about 30 ideas generated at the GS Hackathon have been put into practice, with 7 already fully implemented. A prominent example is the safety management AI agent 'AIR' (AI Risk Assessment). Proposed by five employees from GS Power during the 3rd hackathon, AIR has evolved into a service where AI, upon receiving worksite information, identifies risk factors, assigns risk levels, and suggests preventive measures. Currently, 330 companies are using the service.

'Cheki' by GS Retail is another notable outcome of the hackathon. This AI-powered service verifies whether marketing content meets brand guidelines and identifies the presence of hate speech, and has been adopted not only by GS Retail, but also by GS Caltex, GS Engineering & Construction, GS Art Center, and GS Sports.

GS is also developing AI specialized for industrial settings. The company is currently collaborating with AI model startups to create AI models tailored to power plants, aiming to support field decision-making by understanding plant schematics, operational data, maintenance histories, and alarms. Kim explained, "We are developing a model that can accurately analyze various issues and alarms that arise at power plants and understand schematics and logic."

Kim distanced herself from the view that AI exists to replace employees. She stated, "Our goal is to delegate work to AI, but this does not equate to staff reductions." She emphasized, "AI reshape aims to redesign entire work processes so employees can spend less time on repetitive manual tasks and inefficiencies, freeing them to focus on their core work and field activities."

Ultimately, what Kim wants to build is not just technology itself, but "an organization where problems can be voiced." Since 2020, GS has been running the '52g' initiative, which identifies issues in the field and solves them digitally. To date, a cumulative 10,000 people have participated and about 230 projects have been conducted. Kim remarked, "The biggest problem organizations face is being unable or unwilling to open up about field problems," adding, "A culture in which anyone can voice and solve field problems will become the core of GS Group's organizational culture."

GS’s hackathon is also expected to evolve into a platform that spreads this culture. Kim even suggested that next year's hackathon may not focus on AI. Instead, the plan is to choose topics—like physical AI or robotics—that are most necessary in the field at that time. "We will ensure it remains a platform where anyone can bring in problems and find access to the best technologies and support to solve them," she concluded.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.