Artificial intelligence is no longer just a technological issue; it has become a management, human, and civilizational concern. More important than how quickly companies adopt AI is the question of how humans will relate to it. This question is at the forefront as Yeo Hyun-deok, head of the KAIST G-School and professor responsible for the AI Management program, introduces his new book, AI Management: Child Soldiers and Einstein, to readers.
Professor Yeo held a book concert on May 16 at the Youngpoong Bookstore in Seoul. The event, organized in collaboration with Youngpoong Bookstore and Drucker Mind, featured discussions with readers about new management paradigms, leadership, and human cognitive abilities in the age of AI, based on the key themes of his book. Over 100 attendees included business leaders, professors, ambassadors, cultural figures, and citizens. The presence of leaders such as Yoo Yeon-cheol, Secretary-General of the UN Global Compact Korea, and Ahn Gi-seok, Vice President of CTS Christian TV, highlighted that this book concert transcended a simple publishing event to become a forum addressing management and the future of humanity in the AI era.
The core message of AI Management: Child Soldiers and Einstein is clear: the era of viewing AI merely as a tool is over. Companies and organizations must now understand AI as a strategic resource. However, they must not lose human judgment and insight in the face of AI's overwhelming presence. Professor Yeo emphasizes that true competitiveness in the AI era lies not in the technology itself but in the collaborative intelligence, or CQ, that emerges from the partnership between humans and AI.
The book's title is symbolic. 'Child Soldiers' evokes the anxiety and vulnerability of humans thrust into battle unprepared, while 'Einstein' represents thought, insight, and creative intelligence. Managers in the AI era stand between these two figures: anxious like a child soldier caught in the battlefield of technological change, yet needing to reclaim the Einstein-like insight that penetrates the essence of problems.
Professor Yeo particularly emphasizes the importance of clearly defining problems. No matter how powerful AI is, it cannot provide good answers to poorly framed questions. Ultimately, the starting point of AI management is not technology but questions. Organizations must first ask what problems they aim to solve, whose suffering they seek to alleviate, and which human values they wish to uphold.
Understanding human pain points is the foundation of AI management, according to Professor Yeo. If companies cannot accurately identify customer inconveniences, organizational bottlenecks, and societal deficiencies, AI will remain merely a flashy accessory. Conversely, organizations that accurately read human suffering and needs can develop faster and deeper solutions through AI.
Professor Yeo has long explored the intersection of AI, management, and human-technology relations. As the head of KAIST G-School, he has connected technology, management, and global strategy, and as the professor responsible for the AI Management program, he has shared insights on mindset and organizational strategies for managers in the AI era. According to the organizers, he is also a distinguished professor at KAIST-NYU and actively participates in knowledge networks linking KAIST's global education projects with New York and the Middle East.
This book represents a culmination of that journey. It is not merely a manual for using AI but a reflection on the philosophy and judgment that managers must adopt in the AI era.
Quoting recent research from Harvard Business School and global business cases, the book warns that while AI can contribute to creative innovation, it may hinder the process of solving specific business problems.
This is a crucial insight. AI is not a panacea. It consumes data created by humans and operates within goals set by humans. Therefore, if the goals are unclear, the results will also be unclear, and if the questions are wrong, the answers will be incorrect. Leaders in the AI era must be more than just adept at handling machines; they must be capable of defining problems accurately and holding onto human values.
Professor Yeo also presents various types of decision-making in the age of AI. Depending on the organizational context, the roles of AI and humans should be distributed differently, including fully automated, human-led, technology-assisted, and human-checked decision-making. The key is not to blindly delegate everything to AI but to discern which tasks AI should handle and which require human judgment.
In the future, corporate management will enter an era of agentic AI and physical AI. Agentic AI is not just about providing answers; it understands goals, designs processes independently, and performs tasks. Physical AI will integrate into robotics, manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and urban infrastructure, directly influencing the real world. These two trends will fundamentally change how companies operate and the structure of industries.
However, the more important factor remains humanity. The invisible knowledge of humans, or tacit knowledge, continues to be a core asset of organizations. Documented explicit data alone cannot explain a company's vitality. Long experience, on-the-ground intuition, customer engagement, and judgment in crises cannot be reduced to mere numbers. This is precisely what Professor Yeo emphasizes. When human tacit knowledge and AI's explicit data are effectively combined, organizations can achieve true results.
Ultimately, the right path for AI management is not technological worship or exclusion of humans. It is about making humans more human and using technology to expand human possibilities. AI Management: Child Soldiers and Einstein is a book that questions this balance.
The significance of this book concert lies in this very aspect. It is not just an event to introduce a book but a forum to discuss the direction of Korean management in the AI era. Technology is advancing rapidly. However, if human thought, ethics, and organizational wisdom do not keep pace, that speed could become a danger.
The winners in the AI era will not be the companies that adopt AI first but those that understand it most deeply and wisely combine the roles of humans and technology. Professor Yeo Hyun-deok's new book and book concert pose this very question to Korean businesses and leaders.
How will we use AI? And what kind of humans will we remain alongside AI?
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.