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SEOUL (Reuters) - In cram school-obsessed South Korea, students fork out for classes in everything from K-pop auditions to real estate deals. Now, top Korean firms are rolling out artificial intelligence in hiring - and jobseekers want to learn how to beat the bots.

Kim Seok-wu, a university senior majoring in management, demonstrates an AI interview program in Sungnam, South Korea, November 20, 2019. Picture taken November 20, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

From his basement office in downtown Gangnam, careers consultant Park Seong-jung is among those in a growing business of offering lessons in handling recruitment screening by computers, not people. Video interviews using facial recognition technology to analyze character are key, according to Park.

Dont force a smile with your lips, he told students looking for work in a recent session, one of many he said he has conducted for hundreds of people. Smile with your eyes.

Classes in dealing with AI in hiring, now being used by major South Korean conglomerates like SK Innovation (096770.KS) and Hyundai Engineering & Construction (000720.KS), are still a tiny niche in the countrys multi-billion dollar cram school industry. But classes are growing fast, operators like Parks People & People consultancy claim, offering a three-hour package for up to 100,000 won ($86.26).

Theres good reason to see potential. As many as eight out of every 10 South Korean students are estimated to have used cram schools, and rampant youth unemployment in the country - nearly one in four young people are not in the workforce by certain measures, according to Statistics Korea - offers a motive not present in other countries where cram schools are popular, like Japan.

The AI wont be naturally asking personal questions, said Yoo Wan-jae, a 26-year-old looking for work in the hospitality industry. That will make it a bit uncomfortable ... Ill need to sign up for cram schools for the AI interview, said Yoo, speaking in Seouls Noryangjin district, known as Exam Village, packed with cram schools and study rooms.

Businesses around the world are experimenting with increasingly advanced AI techniques for whittling down applicant lists.

But Lee Soo-young, a director of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) Institute for Artificial Intelligence, told Reuters by telephone the new technology is being more widely embraced in South Korea, where large employers wield much influence in a tightening job market.

According to Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI), nearly a quarter of the top 131 corporations in the country currently use or plan to use AI in hiring.

One AI video system reviewed by Reuters asks candidates to introduce themselves, during which it spots and counts facial expressions including fear and joy and analyses word choices. It then asks questions that can be tough: You are on a business trip with your boss and you spot him using the company (credit) card to buy himself a gift. What will you say?

AI hiring also uses gamification to gauge a candidates personality and adaptability by putting them through a sequence of tests.

Through gamification, employers can check 37 different capabilities of an applicant and how well the person fits into a position, said Chris Jung, a chief manager of software firm Midas IT in Pangyo, a tech hub dubbed South Koreas Silicon Valley.

Preparing for such tests doesnt necessarily involve simply memorizing answers. Some games dont even have a right answer, as they are aimed to spot the problem-solving attitude of the applicant, Jung said.

At People & People, consultant Park said he gave AI hiring talks to over 700 university students, graduates and lecturers in 2019.

Students are struggling from the emergence of AI interviews. My goal is to help them be fully prepared for what they will be dealing with, said Park.

In an online chat room monitored by Park, with more than 600 participants, numerous messages indicate thanks for the classes and success in AI interview quests.

But elsewhere, some who havent yet taken lessons have already given up.

Kim Seok-wu, a 22-year-old senior at a top university, recently failed to get beyond an AI interview for a management position at a retail company, and decided to pursue graduate school instead of trying to find a job.

I think I will feel hopeless if all companies go AI for hiring, Kim said. The AI interview is too new, so job applicants dont know what to prepare for and any preparations seem meaningless since the AI will read our faces if we make something up.

Reporting by Sangmi Cha; Editing by Jack Kim, Josh Smith and Kenneth Maxwell

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'Smile with your eyes': How to beat South Korea's AI hiring bots and land a job - Reuters

Delta Air Lines plans an initial launch of a new artificial intelligence machine learning tool for spring 2020. Photo: Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian used his keynote speech at the annual Consumer Electronics Show to discuss a new 2020s operational structure for the international carrier that will be driven by the use of a new artificial intelligence (AI) machine learning tool.

Under development at Deltas operations and customer center, Bastian did not provide a specific product name for the technology, but instead called it a proprietary tool that will mainly be focused on helping passengers and flight crews overcome weather occurrences that impact the routes they fly on a daily basis. The keynote speech is a familiar strategy across all of the divisions of Delta, including their maintenance team whose predictive maintenance leadership gave a speech on how the airline is shifting towards the adoption of AI at the 2019 AEEC/AMC annual conference.

Weve cancelled cancellations, but we still have to deal with weather variables like hurricanes or a nasty Noreaster, and thats why the team in our operations and customer center is developing the industrys first machine learning platform to help ensure a smooth operation even in extreme conditions. The system uses operational data to run scenarios and project future outcomes while simulating all the variables of running a global airline with more than 1,000 planes in the sky, Bastian said.

Initial launch of Deltas use of the new tool is scheduled for the spring, with the airline describing it as being capable of creating hypothetical outcomes for decision-making that occurs in anticipation of large-scale disruptions caused by weather or other environmental factors beyond their control. A key aspect of the tool is its ability to use machine learning, and learn from the impact of weather disruption so that airline personnel can make better decisions when the same situation occurs in the future.

Neither Bastian or the airlines media team provided major specific details about what types of specific algorithms their new tool will employ or what types of onboard aircraft systems will help fuel them, however Bastians keynote and Deltas development activity in recent years helps explain how theyre using artificial intelligence. The chief executives reference to cancelling cancellations can be traced back to Deltas improvement in avoiding maintenance cancellations, with the airline noting in an October 2019 press release that in 2010 it had more than 5,600 cancellations versus just 55 in 2018 through an internal shift to predictive maintenance.

In 2018 a multi-year agreement was signed between Delta and Airbus for the use of the Skywise Core Platform and Predictive Maintenance Application. Skywise is the data analytics platform Airbus uses to improve flight operational efficiency for airlines, enabled by the Collins Aerospace flight operations and maintenance exchanger (FOMAX) secure server router and compact connectivity unit that gathers aircraft maintenance and performance data and automatically sends it to an airlines maintenance control center engineers and technicians.

When an aircraft lands, FOMAX uses 4G antennas to transmit all of the performance data about every system on the aircraft to the Skywise analytics platform where it is analyzed and used to develop modeling to predict upcoming system failures. That process can help Delta understand when to replace certain parts before they fail and cause an aircraft on ground situation. In 2019, through November, Delta reported a completion factor of 99.8 percent, according to U.S. Department of Transportation data, including the lowest rate of aircraft maintenance-related cancels in its history.

Deltas pilots have also developed a flight weather viewer tablet application that gives them a three-dimensional view of their flight path with a prediction of where turbulence will occur. Initial use of turbulence avoidance first emerged for Delta in 2016, when their fiscal year annual report noted pilots were beta testing the use of algorithms developed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Bastian said the airline is still improving on its use of turbulence avoidance and that it will be a major focus of their overall AI and machine learning driven operational structure moving forward.

Another focus we have is turbulence, were seeing more and more instances of it, and it has a very real impact on our customers and on our employees. We have been able to reduce the impact of turbulence with a flight weather viewer, which is an app developed by our very own Delta pilots. It visualizes turbulence and other weather hazards along the flight path. Using it, pilots can adjust their course more precisely, Bastian said. It also helps our pilots give real time updates to travelers while theyre in the air in advance of encountering turbulence and can also let them know how long we expect it to last.

A key aspect of the new AI tool is that it is proprietary, using Deltas internally held historical operational data to simulate the outcomes of certain environmental impacts on flight operations in real time.Erik Snell, senior vice president of Deltas operations and customer center, said in a statement that the carrier is adding a machine learning platform to our array of behind-the-scenes tools so that the more than 80,000 people of Delta can even more quickly and effectively solve problems even in the most challenging situations.

Among the variables considered by the machine learning algorithm of the new tool range from aircraft placement and crew restrictions to geopolitical constraints. Their smartphone mobile application will also play a major role in their adoption of AI, according to Snell.

As the Fly Delta app transforms into a day-of-travel digital concierge, we expect our quicker game-time decisions to play an even greater role in providing a more stress-free travel experience for our customers, Snell said.

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Delta Develops Artificial Intelligence Tool to Address Weather Disruption, Improve Flight Operations - Aviation Today

BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Artificial intelligence (AI) within the consumer, enterprise, government, and defense sectors is migrating from a conceptual nice to have to an essential technology driving improvements in quality, efficiency, and speed. According to a new report from Tractica, the top industry sectors where AI is likely to bring major transformation remain those in which there is a clear business case for incorporating AI, rather than pie-in-the-sky use cases that may not generate return on investment for many years.

The global AI market is entering a new phase in 2020 where the narrative is shifting from asking whether AI is viable to declaring that AI is now a requirement for most enterprises that are trying to compete on a global level, says principal analyst Keith Kirkpatrick. According to the market intelligence company, AI is likely to thrive in consumer (Internet services), automotive, financial services, telecommunications, and retail industries. Not surprisingly, the consumer sector has demonstrated its ability to capture AI, thanks to the combination of three key factors large data sets, high-performance hardware and state-of-the-art algorithms. Tractica estimates that many of the top enterprise AI verticals will follow and replicate a strategy similar to the consumer Internet companies. Annual global AI software revenue is forecast to grow from $10.1 billion in 2018 to $126.0 billion by 2025.

Tracticas report, Artificial Intelligence Market Forecasts, provides a quantitative assessment of the market opportunity for AI across the consumer, enterprise, government, and defense sectors. The study includes market sizing, segmentation, and forecasts for 333 AI use cases, including more than 200 unique use cases. Tractica has added use cases spread across multiple industries, including energy, manufacturing, retail, consumer, transportation, public sector, media and entertainment, telecommunications, and financial services. Global market forecasts, segmented by use case, technology, geography, revenue type, and meta category, extend through 2025. An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the firms website.

About Tractica

Tractica, an Informa business, is a market intelligence firm that focuses on emerging technologies. Tracticas global market research and consulting services combine qualitative and quantitative research methodologies to provide a comprehensive view of the emerging market opportunities surrounding Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, User Interface Technologies, Advanced Computing and Connected & Autonomous Vehicles. For more information, visit http://www.tractica.com or call +1.303.248.3000.

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Artificial Intelligence Software Market to Reach $126.0 Billion in Annual Worldwide Revenue by 2025, According to Tractica - Business Wire

SINGAPORE - Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies can benefit designers, if they know how to harness them.

Statistical data can be used to predict an outcome a method known as predictive modelling. In urban planning for example, demand for public trains can be forecasted in order to create more efficient public transport deployment plans.

To equip students with such skills, the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) has launched a new undergraduate degree in design and AI,in anticipation of a growing demand for talents who can combine expertise in design innovation with AI technology.

The 3 -year programme - the first of its kind in Singapore - will take in students this academic year, which starts in May, SUTD said on Friday (Jan 10).

Students will be exposed to areas of design such as user interface/user experience (UI/UX), product, systems, built environment, and data-driven design.

They will also learn to use AI technologies and algorithms to produce better design and applications.

Graduates ofthis programme will be able to work as data scientists and data visualisation specialistsin industries such as urban planning, product design and telecommunications, the university said.

Established in 2009, SUTD is the fourth autonomous university in Singapore and focuses on engineering, innovation and design.

It said that the entry requirements for the new programme are the same as for its other four degrees: architecture and sustainable design; engineering product development; engineering systems and design; and information systems technology and design.

Generally, students should be competent in mathematics and the sciences, namely physics or chemistry.

Statistics provided by the university show that of the A Level students who were offered places in the university admission exercise last year, nearly all had taken mathematics at the H2 level, and eight in 10 scored at least a B.

Nearly all had also taken either physics or chemistry, or both, at the H2 Level, and nearly seven in 10 scored at least a B for either or both subjects.

SUTD president Chong Tow Chong said: "The recent announcements from Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat on the next steps in Singapore's Smart Nation journey underscorethe importance of artificial intelligence and the role it will play in bringing about social and economic benefits.

"The main goal of the design and AI programme is to equip students with the ability to create human-centred design using data analysis and machine learning, which is AI-driven," added Professor Chong.

Jurong Pioneer Junior College graduate Michael Hoon, who read H2 maths, further maths and physics, and also took a H3 physics module offered by Nanyang Technological University, is interested in the new programme.

Said the 18-year-old: "I've always been interested in maths and science since I was young, for the most part, due to exposure from school teachers and researching a lot of information online.

"Both subjects are visibly all around us and pretty much serveas the foundations of our survival and development, and being able to apply and integrate the theoretical modelling we have learnt into our daily livesis pretty interesting too."

Excerpt from:
SUTD to offer new undergrad degree in design and artificial intelligence - The Straits Times

Marco Stefanini, Global CEO Global and founder of the Brazilian multinational, will be present in the annual event and will have an article of his in the INSEAD Global Talent Competitiveness Index Report

In the year in which it reaches its 50th anniversary, the World Economic Forum, a big annual event that reunites the main leaderships and authorities of the planet in the political and economic scenes will count on Stefaninis participation, one of the most important providers in global business solutions based on digital technologies. The event will take place from the 21st to the 24th of January 2020 in Davos in the Swiss Alps. Marco Stefanini, Global CEO and founder of the Brazilian multinational, will be present along with Felipe Monteiro, Strategy professor at INSEAD and Director of The Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI).

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During the annual event, which will have as a central theme Stakeholders for a more cohesive and sustainable world, the INSEAD 2020 GTCI Report will be launched on January 22nd at the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Tent. The report will showcase an article titled Latin America: The next source of talent in AI? written by Marco Stefanini in partnership with Fbio Caversan, Artificial Intelligence Research & Development Director of Stefanini USA.

On Chapter 2 of the important global report, the Brazilian multinational evaluates the scope of the Science of Artificial Intelligence and technology in Latin America. Additionally, it highlights Marco Stefaninis vision for the current and future scenarios of this theme, which has been the keynote of the disseminated digital transformation.

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For several years, Stefanini has been maintaining a solid partnership with INSEAD, one of the worlds largest and most prestigious business schools and will promote in 2020 the 3rd class in the Leadership Transformation Program, which will take place from March 28th to April 4th on INSEADs Fontainebleau campus in France. The Leadership Transformation proposes a journey of discoveries and knowledge so that high leaderships can surpass limits through collaboration and innovation amongst each other.

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Stefanini Participates in the 2020 Davos World Economic Forum and Brings Its Experience in Artificial Intelligence - MarTech Series