The government has joined forces with chief executive officers (CEOs) of manufacturing companies in regional industrial complexes and artificial intelligence (AI) specialized companies to discover customized AI transformation (AX) projects.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) hosted the "M.AX CEO Hackathon" on the 21st at the Courtyard by Marriott Sejong, with about 100 people in attendance, including some 50 CEOs of manufacturing companies in regional industrial complexes and representatives from AI specialized companies.

This event was arranged for company CEOs to diagnose on-site problems that most urgently require AI application, such as equipment failures and shortages of skilled labor, and then derive AX models for immediate on-site application through consulting from AI experts.

In his keynote speech, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jeong-gwan emphasized, "AX in manufacturing sites goes beyond the simple introduction of technology and is a matter of management that redesigns the way a company works. Ultimately, it is the role of the CEO to coordinate scattered data and interests across departments and determine company-wide priorities."

He then presented the "3A Principles": "Adapt" to read the flow of change, "Adept" to understand AI, and "Adopt" to put it into actual execution.

During the event, leading cases of AX implementation by HD Hyundai Samho and lecturer Oh Seong-chul were introduced.

Participants were divided into 10 teams to share the difficulties each company actually experiences in the field and their desired AX tasks, and they materialized solutions through consulting from AI specialized companies and experts.

The discussions went beyond merely presenting ideas, proceeding in a manner that reviewed applicable AI technologies, target processes, investment scales, and expected effects, as well as the possibility of linking with follow-up supports such as government projects.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy plans to provide follow-up support linked to government support projects for the outstanding AX tasks discovered on this day, and spread models whose effectiveness has been verified to other industrial complexes and similar processes.

(Photo: Yonhap News)