AI may seem like it's everywhere now, but you'll see a lot more embedded in people's lives before too long, according to YoungJip Kim, the head of AI for Samsung Electronics. Speaking in the evening after the unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE and Galaxy Tab S10 and their many AI features, Kim shared his favorite aspects of the recent burst of AI interest and why it's only just beginning. Part of that is because of the rapid change in how people view AI assistants.
"These days, people's expectation of this technology is very high compared to the several months back. So that's why most, I think most of the tech companies are working on that part very hard," Kim said. "I think people will be able to find more advanced experiences to use [AI with] soon because the AI technology will bring another way to interact with an assistant. And then behind the scenes, the AI assistants and smart devices user experience will be very different from their previous experiences. That's the most interesting part I'm looking forward to."
Samsung's devices have been steadily adding new AI features and expanding their availability. The emphasis on some of the camera and photo AI tools matches up with some of Kim's favorite ways to employ AI. Though he's far from alone in enjoying how AI can enhance photography, it certainly doesn't hurt to have intimate knowledge of everything AI can do for a picture.
"When I take a picture of my wife, I need to [refine] the picture and [use AI to improve] the quality of the picture. That's the way to stay alive. That's a cool function, I think," Kim joked.
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Kim pointed out that even the most mundane use of AI can change lives. He told an anecdote about a Samsung employee from South Korea working at an office in Poland who married a local woman and spent years having to act as a translator between his and his spouse's parents. Then, the Galaxy S24 with AI translation came out. He bought one for each set of parents, and suddenly, there was no language barrier.
Ultimately, Kim believes future AI tools will evolve to reflect how people use and think about AI as they get used to it and spend more time trying various features powered by AI models. He suggested there will be a lot of personalization as AI adapts to the needs of individuals and their way of engaging with the technology.
"I think another shift that people can find out in the coming year is adoption. So today, people [have mostly] tried to use AI technology [only] from time to time. And in the coming year, I think that AI technology will be deeply integrated with every corner of life," Kim said. "So I think making a user's life easier is the best part. I think one of the examples is the communication, the translation, and the summarizing, and all those kinds of language-based data. I'm excited about that kind of continuing innovation."
