From magic to K-pop, robots join forces with it all... CEO Choi Yong-ho’s ‘Polymath’ experiment: “We’ll make warm robots”

[Financial News] Galaxy Corporation CEO Choi Yong-ho said on the 10th that he envisioned using artificial intelligence (AI) and robots to expand the limits of human potential and create new value. He spoke at the Polymath event marking World Science Day, held at Galaxy Robot Park in Godeok-dong, Gangdong District, Seoul.

With the event coinciding with World Science Day and the release of a new book, it brought to life the book’s emphasis on the value of convergence through a performance combining robots and magic. 
The new book ‘Polymath X3,’ co-written by Choi and Shin Tae-gyun, former vice president of the Samsung Human Resources Development Institute, presents the ‘post-specialist’—someone who connects knowledge and capabilities from various fields to break new ground—as the kind of talent needed in the AI era. It is the pair’s second book, following ‘The Conditions of the Übermensch: 33 Paths to Becoming an Übermensch,’ which they published together last March. The event featured a performance combining robots and magic.
Taking the stage after the performance, Choi recounted how he had entered the ‘Creative Olympiad’ using magic when he was in high school. “Back then, I realized that magic and science were connected,” he said. “Twenty years later, I thought about how children today could have a more enjoyable experience with robots,” he continued. “I thought that combining two different fields—robots and magic—to create new value was itself a polymathic endeavor,” he explained.
Emphasizing ‘polymathic thinking’ that combines different kinds of knowledge and technology, Choi said, “Everyone has imagination, creativity and drive, but what matters is what adjectives come before them. We need people with imagination and creativity to an almost crazy degree, who know how to combine different capabilities in new ways.”

Choi also cited K-pop and robots as a prime example of a polymathic combination. Combining artists’ music, intellectual property (IP) and performances with robotic technology could overcome the constraints of time and space, he said. Galaxy Corporation is also the agency for singer G-Dragon and actor Song Kang-ho. 
“A song can be introduced to 100 countries online, but a person can’t travel to all 100,” he said. “When the powerful IP and software held by the Korean Wave are combined with robots as hardware, robots can complement what humans cannot do and create new value.” He pointed to the possibility of world tours and permanent performances overseas using robots.
The venue where this vision is being tested is Galaxy Robot Park, a facility of about 16,500 square meters (5,000 pyeong) in Godeok-dong, Gangdong District, Seoul. The park aims to be a multifaceted cultural space where visitors can see, eat, play and interact alongside robots. It officially opened on August 21, and all sessions sold out during its July–August preview period, drawing a total of 20,000 visitors.
Choi said that day, “We currently hold five performances a day on weekends, and total attendance has reached about 33,000.” He also said that developing the robot park involved higher-than-expected costs and considerable trial and error. “Because it’s such a large-scale project, the costs were high, and trying a path no one had taken before brought unexpected challenges,” he said. “Even so, we wanted to test the direction we’re pursuing.”
Meanwhile, Galaxy Corporation’s robot entertainment business is also expanding overseas. On the 23rd of last month, the company unveiled Galaxy Robot Arena Dubai at Reel Cinemas in Dubai Mall, United Arab Emirates (UAE). In collaboration with local companies Emaar Entertainment and Reel Cinemas, it transformed an existing movie theater into a cultural venue for robot performances and interactive experiences.
Choi said, “If today is the age of AI, the next will be the age of physical AI, when digital AI takes on a robot’s body. I will continue the challenge of creating warm robots around the world, so that people can feel that AI robots, too, are beings with hearts.”
[email protected] Shin Jin-a Reporter