AI may seem like it’s everywhere now, but you’ll see much more of it embedded in people’s lives in the near future, says YoungJip Kim, head of AI at Samsung Electronics. Speaking the evening after unveiling 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 just beginning. Part of that is due to the rapid change in the way people view AI assistants.
“Today, people’s expectations about this technology are very high compared to a few months ago. That’s why most, I think, most technology companies are working very hard on that part,” Kim said. “I think people will be able to find more advanced experiences to use [AI with] soon because AI technology will provide another way to communicate with an assistant. And behind the scenes, the user experience of AI assistants and smart devices 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 camera and photo AI tools aligns with some of Kim’s favorite ways to use AI. While he’s certainly not the only one enjoying the way AI can improve photography, it certainly doesn’t hurt to have a thorough understanding of everything AI can do for a photo.
“If I take a picture of my wife, I have to do that [refine] the photo and [use AI to improve] the quality of the image. That’s the way to stay alive. I think that’s a cool feature,” Kim joked.
Our AI future
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 who worked in an office in Poland, married a local woman and had to act as a translator between him and his wife’s parents for years. Then the Galaxy S24 with AI translation came out. He bought one for each set of parents, and suddenly there was no more language barrier.
Ultimately, Kim believes that 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 out different features powered by AI models. He suggested that there will be a lot of personalization as AI adapts to the needs of individuals and their way of interacting with the technology.
“I think another shift people may explore in the coming year is adoption. So today folks [have mostly] tried to use AI technology [only] from time to time. And in the coming year, I think AI technology will be deeply integrated into every corner of life,” said Kim. “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 summarization, and all that kind of language-based data. I’m excited about this kind of continued innovation.”
