Artificial intelligence is no longer just a technological issue; it has become a management, human, and civilizational concern. More crucial than how quickly companies adopt AI is the question of how humans will relate to it. In light of this, Yeo Hyun-deok, head of the KAIST G-School and professor responsible for the AI Management program, has released a new book titled AI Management: Child Soldiers and Einstein and engaged with readers.
Professor Yeo held a book concert on May 16 at the Youngpoong Bookstore in Seoul. The event, organized by Youngpoong Bookstore and Drucker Mind, featured discussions based on the book's core themes, focusing on new management paradigms, leadership, and human cognitive abilities in the age of AI.
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, Ahn Gi-seok, Vice President of CTS Christian TV, and Kim Seon-rae, Chairman of the Hangarae Movement Headquarters, highlighted that the book concert transcended a mere publishing event, serving as a public forum to explore management and the future of humanity in the AI era.
The central 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 their judgment and insight in the face of AI's overwhelming capabilities. 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.
Professor Yeo held a book concert on May 16 at the Youngpoong Bookstore in Seoul. The event, organized by Youngpoong Bookstore and Drucker Mind, featured discussions based on the book's core themes, focusing on new management paradigms, leadership, and human cognitive abilities in the age of AI.
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, Ahn Gi-seok, Vice President of CTS Christian TV, and Kim Seon-rae, Chairman of the Hangarae Movement Headquarters, highlighted that the book concert transcended a mere publishing event, serving as a public forum to explore management and the future of humanity in the AI era.
The central 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 their judgment and insight in the face of AI's overwhelming capabilities. 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. On one hand, they feel the anxiety of being like child soldiers caught in the battlefield of technological change, yet on the other hand, they must recover the Einstein-like thinking 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 the questions posed. Organizations must first ask what problems they aim to solve, whose suffering they seek to alleviate, and what human values they wish to uphold.
He states that understanding human pain points is the beginning of AI management. If companies fail to accurately identify customer inconveniences, organizational bottlenecks, and societal deficiencies, AI will remain merely a decorative element.
Conversely, organizations that accurately read human suffering and needs can create 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 responsible professor for the AI Management program, he has disseminated the mindset and organizational strategies needed in the AI era to managers. According to the organizers, he is also a chair professor at KAIST-NYU and actively participates in knowledge networks connecting KAIST's global education projects with New York and the Middle East.
This book is a culmination of that journey. It is not just a manual for utilizing AI but a reflection on the philosophy and judgment that managers must adopt in the AI era.
Citing the latest 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 an important 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 correctly defining problems and steadfastly adhering to human values.
Professor Yeo also presents various types of decision-making in the AI era. Depending on the organizational context, the roles of AI and humans should be allocated differently, including fully automated, human-led, technology-assisted, and human-checked decision-making. The key is not to blindly entrust 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 autonomously, and performs tasks. Physical AI, on the other hand, integrates 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 critical factor remains humans. 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-standing experience, situational awareness, 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 correct path for AI management is neither technological worship nor the exclusion of humans. It should lead to a scenario where humans become more human, and technology is used to expand human potential. AI Management: Child Soldiers and Einstein is a book that questions this balance.
The significance of this book concert lies here. It is not merely 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 the 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.
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