"A College Degree Isn't Really Necessary"... Choi Taewon's Advice to Young People

Appears on EBS's "Great Minds"
"If I Could Go Back to My 20s, I'd Start a Business Using AI to Solve Humanity's Toughest Problems"

SK Group Chairman Choi Taewon said, "In the age of artificial intelligence (AI), schools should change from places where people learn into places where they experiment."

Speaking as the fifth lecturer on EBS's "Great Minds" on October 16, Chairman Choi gave this answer to a young person's question: "What should students learn at university, and what direction should universities take in the future?" He went on to say, "A college degree is not really necessary," predicting, "Before long, whether or not you graduated from university will make little difference to how you use AI."

Yonhap News Agency

He listed six qualities that people need to thrive in the AI era: problem-solving skills, the ability to ask questions, critical thinking, empathy, adaptability, and a willingness to take risks without fear of failure. "When you get the chance, try making anything you want with AI. That's what's important," he said. "Even a child who keeps using AI and following how it develops will be at the forefront."

Chairman Choi stressed, "The attitude that 'you just need to learn what you're taught and work hard' has to disappear. We need to recognize that the very concept of learning has changed." He predicted that "individual choice" would become increasingly important in the age of AI. "Rather than being employed by someone, people will have the option to choose a company and decide which projects to take on and how to do them, giving them more freedom," he said, while adding, "If this change happens too quickly, it could have adverse effects such as mass layoffs."

He continued, "We need to experiment one step at a time, and companies and society need time to adapt. I hope South Korea can adapt to these changes as quickly as possible if it is to become an AI nation. The sooner we can do this, the more freedom of choice South Koreans will have."

SK Group Chairman Choi Taewon gives a lecture on EBS's "Great Minds" on the 16th. Screenshot from EBS broadcast.

Chairman Choi said, "If I could go back to my 20s with AI, I would start a business without hesitation. I would do whatever it takes to solve the problems that I consider the most difficult or painful, whether in South Korea or across humanity."

Citing hunger as an example, he said, "The old approach of growing crops to supply food simply isn't enough, so I would try to solve the problem by developing new farming methods or creating some kind of nutritional supplement or artificial food." He then smiled and said, "That sounds like a wonderful thing to say, but I'd probably be spending more time having fun. That would probably be closer to the truth."

Chairman Choi identified four capabilities young people should develop in the AI era: critical thinking, empathy, adaptability, and physical skills. He also urged them to learn how to overcome failure and try again.

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