SoftBank mandates AI tasks for all employees... "Create 100 apps per person"

【Tokyo=Kim Kyung-min Correspondent】 SoftBank Group (SBG) subsidiaries Line Yahoo and SoftBank will mandate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for all employees. It is unusual for a Japanese company to make AI usage a company-wide obligation. The strategy is to prepare for the era of AI agents that autonomously think and perform tasks by accumulating internal usage models and operational know-how early on.
According to Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) on the 13th, Line Yahoo plans to introduce a new regulation requiring all employees to "must use AI in their work." The initial application areas are research and search, document preparation, and internal meetings, totaling three areas. An internal work analysis conducted in 2023 showed that these three items accounted for one-third of the total work.
Market analysis and internal inquiry responses through AI will be automated in principle. Before meetings, AI will summarize agendas based on previous minutes, and the writing of minutes will also be replaced by AI. Writing minutes directly without AI is not allowed.
The main AI platforms to be introduced include three types, such as OpenAI's 'ChatGPT' (corporate version) from the United States. Line Yahoo aims to double internal work productivity by 2027 compared to 2024. The plan is to reduce time spent on repetitive and standardized tasks and focus on creative tasks such as face-to-face sales or AI development.
Parent company SoftBank has also mandated AI development participation for all employees. Each person is required to develop 100 AI applications, with the goal of completion by this summer. The development will utilize OpenAI's tools and include data analysis, automatic form creation, and work support apps. Apps with high usability will be officially introduced into actual work.
Subsidiary PayPay is also reviewing a reorganization of its HR system to match the AI-based work environment. Over the next 2-3 years, the structure of HR evaluations, recruitment, and talent placement will be gradually shifted to focus on AI. For example, the performance or evaluation criteria of existing employees may be adjusted based on the premise that some tasks are automatically performed by AI.
The background to SoftBank and Line Yahoo's 'compulsory' AI usage is the sense of crisis that "talent capable of handling AI will soon determine corporate competitiveness." Junichi Miyakawa, President of SoftBank, emphasized, "Who can use AI and to what extent will determine the future gap between companies."

km@fnnews.com Kim Kyung-min Reporter