The Certain Future Foreshadowed by the AI Era
With every blink of an eye, a new AI technology emerges; even as we are still mastering existing technologies, artificial intelligence powered by newer advancements has already arrived. What is certain is that the explosive growth of massive data is driving rapid leaps in computing technology, which will inevitably give rise to artificial intelligence that surpasses the limits of human imagination. Feeding on data, AI, with its limitless learning capacity and astonishing rate of development, brings convenience to our lives while also creating new challenges. Yet we can neither ignore the existence of AI nor allow it to dominate humanity. Faced with the harsh winter that the AI era portends, how should humanity break the deadlock?

Four Major Side Effects of AI That You Must Understand
Algorithmic bias: Data determines AI’s cognition. Since AI learns from data and responds based on patterns, biases in the input data will directly shape biased AI systems.
Hallucination phenomenon: Large language models, exemplified by ChatGPT, generate the “most reasonable” context based on probabilities, a mechanism that means they cannot always produce complete truths.
Risk of value misalignment: If the values humans pursue are not precisely aligned with the values AI understands, AI may formulate subgoals or implementation plans that deviate from the right path in order to achieve its intended objectives.
Proliferation of misinformation: From deepfakes to voice synthesis, AI technology is facing the serious challenge of being maliciously abused.

It must be recognized that issues such as misinformation, data bias, and value alignment are, at their core, technical and ethical hurdles that AI developers and users must jointly overcome.

Seven Human Qualities That AI Struggles to Match
Even though AI has already surpassed human capabilities in certain fields, as long as you possess any one of the following qualities, your position will remain secure in the foreseeable future:
Lack of tacit knowledge: Humans possess wisdom that is “intuitively understood,” whereas AI can only output learned data according to pre-programmed instructions.
Absence of a world model: Lacking humans’ basic common sense about the world, AI struggles to understand situations and contexts.
Inability to define problems: Humans are responsible for posing questions, while AI is only responsible for solving them.
Barrier to real-time learning: Humans can acquire new knowledge at any time, whereas AI requires retraining with a full dataset.
Lack of a physical body: Intelligence and action are decoupled; developing AI with infant-level mobility is more difficult than building adult-level intelligence.
Creativity ceiling: Innovation requires unique ideas, experiences, emotions, and values—precisely what AI, as a highly efficient machine, lacks.
Limited empathy: Even if AI can simulate emotional conversations, it is essentially engaged in patterned output.

Humans Are Like Digital Parents; AI Is Like a Smart Child
Faced with the relentless advance of AI, the wisest attitude is neither fear nor rejection, but rather guiding it onto the right path by feeding it healthy data and correcting its undesirable tendencies. Although we currently rely mostly on AI built by others, in the future each of us will have our own dedicated AI—and in fact, we already hold the key to this future in our hands. Therefore, individuals need to strengthen the unique abilities that set them apart from AI, businesses should embrace the “Goldilocks principle” (the principle of moderation), and nations must safeguard citizens and sovereignty to address the social divisions that AI may exacerbate.

A Comprehensive Work That Integrates Humanities, Social Sciences, and Technological Knowledge
This book clearly outlines the current state of generative AI while systematically analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of large language models and their application scenarios. It delves deeper into the practical application of the “Goldilocks principle” in industrial settings and explores how to develop intermediary capabilities for collaboration with AI.

As computer pioneer Alan Kay once said: “If people worry that AI will make us feel inferior, shouldn’t we feel even more ashamed when we see a flower?” This book aims to remind us that in the AI era, the unique value of humanity can never be replaced.

A Natural Encounter Between Artificial Intelligence and Humanity, Fostered by Leading Scholars in Industrial Engineering
Alleviating the anxiety caused by the widening AI gap and providing solutions to enhance competitiveness
Against the backdrop of warnings that AI with human-average intelligence levels will emerge within a few years, this book comprehensively examines the current situation and future directions at the individual, corporate, societal, and national levels. It aims to help people no longer view artificial intelligence merely as a tool, but rather to embrace this “fellow traveler” with a more natural attitude. The book guides readers to critically understand intelligent technologies, grasp the essence of artificial intelligence through a multidimensional perspective that integrates the humanities, social sciences, and technology, and deeply analyzes its strengths and limitations, thereby exploring the optimal path for human–AI collaboration. By cultivating core competencies in individuals, society, and enterprises to cope with artificial intelligence, the book ultimately seeks to build a harmonious and thriving ecosystem in which humans, AI, and jobs coexist in balance.

Lin Chuncheng
An industrial engineering scholar, currently a professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering at Yonsei University. He graduated from the Department of Industrial Engineering at Seoul National University and later earned his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in the United States. He previously served as a professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey, USA, and is now teaching at Yonsei University.
For more than 20 years, Professor Lin has focused on researching the impact of information technology and the digital economy on individuals’ lives and business operations, as well as developing corresponding response strategies. He has authored numerous professional books and academic papers. As an expert in industrial policy and technology management, he has provided diagnostic assessments and future strategic planning for over 1,000 enterprises and organizations. With his interdisciplinary academic perspective and ability to communicate complex ideas in an accessible manner, Professor Lin Chuncheng serves as a vital bridge between academic research, industrial practice, and public understanding.

Representative Works:
“Mediated Existence”: A bestselling interdisciplinary book that integrates the humanities, social sciences, business management, and technology, widely loved by readers.
“Keeping Distance” (revised and retitled “Distancing”): The practical companion to “Mediated Existence,” focusing on interpersonal relationships, and consistently ranks among the bestsellers in the essay category.
“Your Quantum Leap”: The concluding volume of a trilogy, offering a fresh perspective on the secrets to achieving leaps in wealth, power, and knowledge in an era of technological explosion.
“A Brave New World”: Presents a holistic vision that integrates the humanistic essence of core technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution with the societal transformations they bring.
“The Beta Strategy”: Proposes innovative business and relationship strategies for enterprises and individuals in times of rapid change.

Honors and Achievements:
Recipient of the “New Knowledge Person” award in the 15th Korea National Assembly Grand Prize.
Recipient of the Yellow Ribbon Order of Service Merit in the Information and Communications field on Science and Information and Communications Day 2019.

Foreword How are you? AI

Chapter 1 Spring - Cognitive Awakening
The Truly Important Encounter
Three Undeniable Facts
Superb Computing Power
Massive Data
Algorithms Beyond Imagination
How Does AI Come to You?
Plum Rain Season Special: A Comprehensive Analysis of Generative AI

Chapter 2 Summer - Exploring Understanding
The Intelligent Essence of Artificial Intelligence: A Classification System
Starting from Common Sense
Multidimensional Perspectives on AI

Why Understanding Is Necessary: Goal-Oriented Approach
Human Goals
AI Goals

Learning to Prioritize: The Art of Selection
What You Must Know Before an Encounter
The Wisdom of Letting Go

Mid-Autumn Festival Special: A Detailed Explanation of the Transformer Architecture and Large Language Models

Chapter 3 Autumn - Collaborative Symbiosis

The Limits of AI's Capabilities: Limitations
The Mind Transcends the Machine
Is Machine Intelligence Truly Intelligent?

The Key to Effective Dialogue: The Art of Expression
Boring and Tedious: Principles Are Rules
Humans Create AI, AI Shapes Humans

Acceptance and Integration: The Way of Inclusion
The Mindset for Embracing AI
Maintaining Critical Acceptance

Christmas Gift: The Goldilocks Principle in Technology

Chapter 4 Winter - Breaking Through Challenges

Personal Best Strategies
Categorized by Profession, Task, and Group
Essential Core Competencies

Enterprises' AI Transformation Choices
Supplier Positioning
The Goldilocks Principle for Demand-Side Users

The Social Impact of AI
Universal Rights and Unshared Responsibilities
A Glimmer of Hope in the Cracks

South Korea's Reality and Opportunities
The Struggle for AI Hegemony and Sovereignty
The AI World War

All Humanity vs. Superintelligence
High-Probability Crisis
Low-Probability Contingency Plans

New Year's Special: Capability Assessment Board
Spring Festival Special: The Media Quadrant

Chapter 5 Back to Spring - The Path to Happiness

Pursuing Realistic Happiness: The Way of Media
The Golden Age of Media
AI as an Intermediary

The Rules for Long-Term Coexistence with AI
AI's Internal Rules
Guidelines for Interacting with AI
The Way of Life in the AI Era

Achieving the Best Version of Yourself: The Path of Transformation
Qualitative Transformation
Integrated Collaborative Transformation
Combined Editing Transformation

Acknowledgments