AI, blockchain: 2018 tech catchwords

By Lee Min-hyung

The global tech industry was in a frenzy over artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain last year.

The trends is expected to speed up this year with a growing number of companies here and abroad jumping into the two emerging areas in efforts to find their next growth engine.

With the rise of big data, AI has become the talk of almost all the industry encompassing hardware and software in recent years. As data management is gaining more traction, conventional hardware manufacturers such as Samsung and LG also tapped into AI last year.

Samsung Electronics launched its first-ever AI voice assistant Bixby for its flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S8, last year. Under the goal of connecting all of its hardware devices with AI software, the company is on track to reshape its business strategy with a focus on the emerging technology and the internet of things (IoT).

LG Electronics is no exception in the drive for AI. The company also introduced its AI-dedicated brand ThinQ last year, when it also opened its first AI lab.

To raise its AI brand identity, the company also plans to set up a ThinQ booth at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2018 in Las Vegas next week.

“LG Electronics focused on establishing foundations for growth last year, but now we have to develop systems to lead the hyper-connected era by pre-occupying future technologies - such as AI and big data,” LG Electronics Vice Chairman Jo Seong-jin said in his New Year’s greeting to employees, Tuesday.

Google is also planning to introduce its AI vision for this year by participating in the CES 2018. This will be the first time the world’s leading portal operator has participated in the tech tradeshow. The company is also expected to showcase a series of AI-driven hardware devices such as speakers and smartphones.

Another technology to gain traction this year will be blockchain, which is a decentralized electronic ledger technology underpinning Bitcoin.

Starting in the second half of last year, Korea was in an unprecedented craze for the encrypted currency, bitcoin, with its value soaring to as high as 25 million won ($22,800) at one time last month. In January last year, one bitcoin traded at only less than 2 million won here.

With bitcoin gaining explosive popularity here and abroad, global tech town has also started paying close attention to its backbone blockchain technology.

According to data from the World Economic Forum, the blockchain-based platforms will account for 10 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025.

Local companies involved in blockchain include Samsung SDS, LG CNS and SK C&C. Samsung SDS is particularly adopting the firm’s blockchain platform Nexledger for other Samsung affiliates including Samsung Securities and Samsung Card.

“This year, we are going to focus on expanding our blockchain footstep by signing more partnerships with firms in areas such as logistics and public sectors,” a company official said.