SK Telecom Will Launch An AI Chatbot This Year

ChatGPT had a significant global impact months after its launch, prompting countries to develop AI chatbots. 

Specifically, South Korean tech giant SK Telecom told CNBC it plans to launch an artificial intelligence chatbot named A. (pronounced “A-dot”).

SKT launched a beta version of A. in South Korea last year. Eric Davis, SK Telecom VP, said that his company plans to launch the full version in 2023. 

SK Telecom’s AI chatbot vs. ChatGPT

A South Korean telco giant has its own A.I. chatbot — and says it's a 'super app' version of ChatGPT https://t.co/wmBNjmo2kM

— CNBC (@CNBC) March 2, 2023

Davis shared more details with CNBC at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. As one of the people behind A., he proudly emphasized its advantages over ChatGPT.

“It’s like you’re chatting with a friend, where you’re solving issues that you encounter in your daily life,” the SK Telecom vice president said.

Yet, A. and OpenAI are similar types of artificial intelligence called large language models (LLMs). 

They learn from massive text databases to produce media seemingly written by humans. 

ChatGPT can write poems, scientific journals, academic essays, and other types of written media.

However, Davis says A. has a significant advantage over OpenAI’s chatbot: SK Telecom will turn it into a super app.

A super app contains numerous services usually found in different apps. For example, the Grab app in the Philippines lets you hail a cab like Uber and order food like GrubHub.

The South Korean tech company has various services like music streaming, payment processing, and eCommerce.

Linking them to A. would allow SKT to bring them closer to customers. “So, largely, the super app is the end picture there,’ Davis stated.

“Download our app, and we’ll do basically everything you want us to do and more,” he added. 

“ChatGPT is great. You know, it answers your questions, or it provides a summary. But it doesn’t do any things we did in A.”

“It doesn’t connect you with services or out, it doesn’t have any personalization, we make a conscious effort to learn about our users.”

The SKT vice president said the company has been meeting with experts from Europe and Southeast Asia to introduce their latest products and services.

For example, the SK Telecom website states it helped Globe Telecom in the Philippines to establish an LTE network.

Conclusion

The US company OpenAI accelerated the AI race after launching ChatGPT. As a result, other countries want to create new products and services with artificial intelligence.

Specifically, South Korea’s SK Telecom shared its plans to release an AI chatbot. However, the company will turn it into an AI-powered super app with more features.

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