Episode 190. I’ll take care of everything.
At my question, Vice Chairman Jang Dae-won scratched the tip of his nose.
“As the chairman said, we are gathering AI experts with doctoral level or higher if possible, but it is not easy. First of all, there are not many labs that specialize in AI research, and most of them want to remain as scholars even if they find one… level.”
Considering that more than five years from now, research personnel will begin to flock to AI, so it was still possible.
But I can’t just wait that long…
A good idea popped into my mind.
“I will try to find an AI developer.”
“Chairman?”
“yes. There is one person that just came to mind. First of all, finding it is a problem, but once you can bring it in, you won’t have to worry about finding an AI developer any more. Because he is such a great person.”
Kevin Wells.
Lewis Milton, the development manager who made the Beta Go of goggles, which became famous after defeating a professional Go player 10 years later, said in an interview with a media company, ‘He has just reached the level he achieved 10 years ago.’ He became famous.
I heard that he got caught up in a gunfight by gangs and suffered a serious head injury, and eventually quit his research…
Could it have happened already?
“Is there such a person?”
“yes. I will talk to Director Lee Kuk-hyun and look for it, so please wait.”
#Damoye Motors (formerly Baekwoo Motors) headquarters conference room.
I was receiving a third-quarter earnings report from CEO Woo Kwan-ho.
“In this quarter, the domestic market share exceeded 60%, and in the US market, 25%, surpassing the world’s leading manufacturers to take the first place. In particular, we were recognized as a top-notch automaker by beating QM, the 2nd place, by a large margin of 10%.”
The US market was a battleground where automakers from all over the world faced each other with electricity.
Because being number one there actually meant being at the forefront of the automotive industry.
It was pretty meaningful.
“It’s number one in the US market… that’s great.”
President Woo opened his mouth with a recalled face.
“The fact that the ACC, which was exhibited at this year’s Geneva Motor Show, received good reviews, seems to have led to sales performance.”
“At that time, President Woo spoke so well, I think it was because of that. haha.”
President Woo made a humble expression.
“no. ACC itself came out so well, that’s why. Although it is in the very early stages of autonomous driving, we have created a car that can go and get on its own, so it had no choice but to sell.”
“It is. Unfortunately, however, the ACC effect can be seen only for one or two years at most. Competitors must be doing their best to catch up with us by now, so next year they will come out with ACCs everywhere.”
“It’s been one or two years… The president saw it that way. But in my opinion, neither radar nor ECU are technologies that can be followed in such a short period of time…”
“To get to our level, yes. However, even if the precision is lower than ours and the response is a little slower, consumers are bound to be deceived once they claim that it is ACC. It will have a pretty big impact on sales.”
“okay…”
“In that sense, let’s start developing next-generation strategic technology.”
“Did you have any skills you were thinking of…?”
“It’s an automatic parking system.”
“Automated..parking system?”
“One of the things that beginners find difficult to drive is parking. Especially in a city where there are a lot of cars, you often have to park in a narrow space, and I want to make it possible for the car to do that automatically.”
President Woo half-opened his mouth and exclaimed.
“Ah… that’s a good idea. Using our radar technology and ECU, it seems possible to implement such a function. And I think it can be used well as an appeal point that stimulates the purchase desire of consumers.”
“Unlike ACC, which only requires front and rear radar, this will require a radar that can detect even the sides. Since it is equipped with a side radar, it would be even better to create a warning system for objects approaching from the blind spot.”
“All right. We will start developing based on what you just said.”
#Old downtown Detroit, one of America’s worst offenders.
The group’s chief of staff, Lee Kuk-hyeon, grumbled toward Song Ki-cheol, the secretary’s staff.
“Hey, do you know that?”
“I heard that this is a place where security is so bad that even the employees of the fast food restaurant are protected with bulletproof glass. It is said that in the new year, there are not only one or two crazy people who shoot guns like cannons… Why is the person you are looking for in a place like this?”
“Ah, Lord, it’s true. All women live in a place where people live, so why are you already worried about him?”
“Aren’t you worried that someone might shoot you from behind?”
Song Ki-cheol laughed.
“haha. Losing, sixth sense or something I figured it out. God, didn’t the saint bring me all the way to Yeog?”
Lee Guk-hyun looked at Song Ki-cheol and nodded.
“..Actually, he was the one who came back alive from the chaos in the days of the Ministry of National Security, but this is probably nothing.”
“That’s why I believe in you and go quickly. Let’s finish it up and eat something delicious.”
Thanks to Song Ki-cheol’s generosity, Lee Guk-hyun’s face became more comfortable.
“okay. Let’s hurry up and go eat.”
They soon reached a street lined with shabby two-story houses built of red brick.
Occasionally, big black people glanced at them and passed by.
Fortunately, nothing happened until we reached our destination.
When Lee Kuk-hyun knocked on the door of one of them, a black girl who looked about 12 years old stuck her head out.
“who are you?”
“Is this where Kevin Wells lives?”
“It’s our brother. why?”
Lee Guk-hyun took out a business card in English and gave it to the child.
“We are from a company called Damoye in Korea. I want to talk to you for a moment, can we meet?”
“My brother went to a part-time job right now…”
“Part time job?”
“I work part-time at a restaurant called Pacer, two blocks from here.”
Lee Guk-hyun and Song Ki-cheol made eye contact and nodded their heads.
“I see. Then I’ll have to go over there. But we may cross paths, so can you give me the business card when he comes home?”
“okay. thank you.”
They left Kevin’s house and walked to the restaurant the kid had told him.
After walking for 5 minutes, I found young men facing each other with grim faces near a three-story building 50 meters away from them.
Song Ki-cheol immediately frowned.
“Isn’t the atmosphere a little squishy?”
Lee Guk-hyun hardened his face and asked.
“..maybe a gun?”
“yes. It looks like there’s going to be a fight between them soon. Let’s avoid behind there in case you don’t know.”
Just as they were about to turn, I saw a black man in his mid-20s walking towards them from the opposite corner of the three-story building, with earphones in his ears.
Seeing this, Lee Guk-hyun made a bewildered face.
“Oh, damn it. That’s Kevin…”
Since I had familiarized myself with Kevin Wells’ face in the photo during the preliminary investigation, I was able to recognize it at a glance.
“What are you doing? That AI developer?”
“yes. Isn’t it a bit dangerous to leave it as it is? Just looking at it, I don’t think I’m aware of the current situation because I’m wearing earphones…”
“It’s dangerous. Please wait, sir. I’ll go and pick you up quickly.”
“..are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m not fighting them, I’m bringing someone with me, don’t worry.”
“Then be careful.”
When Song Ki-cheol almost got close to Kevin, the men who were fighting pulled out their guns and aimed them at each other.
He instinctively blew himself up and hit Kevin.
Tang! Tang! Tang!
With the roar of gunpowder exploding, bullets hit the ground where Kevin had just been standing.
Song Ki-cheol pulled out of the scene by dragging Kevin with a pale face.
After a while, the gunshots stopped, and Lee Guk-hyun, who was noticing, approached them.
“Ki-cheol. it’s okay?”
“sure. What is your name?”
“I’m fine too. Kevin?”
“This friend doesn’t seem to have any injuries either, so I’m a little surprised, or his face doesn’t make any sense. Please, sir, speak well.”
Lee Guk-hyun spoke to Kevin in fluent English.
“hello. My name is Lee Guk-hyun from Damoye, Korea. Kevin Wells, right?”
“..yes. That’s right, why…?”
“Once on the road, the story is a little bit different, so we go somewhere.”
They went to a nearby KFC.
Kevin, who was listening to Lee Kook-hyun’s story, opened his mouth with a bewildered face.
“First of all, thank you for saving me. But you want to scout me at Damoe? Did you not graduate from high school properly?”
“Educational background is not a prerequisite for our company’s employment conditions. Moreover, since the president pointed out Mr. Kevin, there is no problem in getting a job even if you do not have an academic background.”
“..why do you want a guy like me?”
“I don’t know the details, but I heard that Kevin is pretty good at AI. is not it?”
“…I’m interested…but I’ve never formally learned it, and I’m making it by self-studying little by little. Besides, I don’t think there’s any special place to use it, but do you really want me to get a job? And in that famous Damoe?”
“of course. If Kevin is okay, the starting salary will start at $50,000.”
Kevin’s eyes widened in surprise.
“..50,000 dollars?”
“yes. In addition, if you come to Korea, we will provide a separate house for you. Of course, this is a benefit that is provided in addition to the salary.”
Kevin hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.
“..Really good conditions, but I don’t think it will be possible.”
Despite Kevin’s rejection, Lee Kuk-hyun opened his mouth with a relaxed face.
“If it’s because of my little sister, I’ll make it possible for you to go to Korea with me. Of course, they will find a good school for my brother to attend.”
“..Is that true? Can you send Jessie to a good school?”
“yes. If you don’t like Damoye, we can’t help it, but if you have any other problems, we can solve all of them. It’s a company with that kind of ability.”
After thinking for a while longer, Kevin’s head finally nodded.
“All right. Let’s go!”
early October.
D Phone 2 was released.
Since 4G infrastructure was already established in Europe, Europe was also included in the first launch country, unlike D Phone 1.
As if they had suppressed their desire to purchase so far, the European side sucked up the stock of D Phone 2 like a black hole.
In the end, the stock of 4 million units decreased within a week of its release, and IT had to take an emergency.
In the IT conference room gathered together, there were daily countermeasures meetings that I personally supervised.
It was the same today.
“Production manager. How many D-Phone 2s are left in stock?”
The head of the production team, with a face that looked lifeless like the zombies in the movie, answered me.
“About 1.1 million.”
“I lost 50,000 more in one day.”
“That’s right. Although the speed of sales in Europe has slowed down, more than 200,000 pieces are still being shipped out a day, and the number of shipments from the United States and Korea alone is over 100,000. The current assembly line limit is about 250,000 pieces per day, so even though we are already switching to Full-CAPA (maximum production system), inventory is decreasing. It can be solved by increasing the assembly line, but since this is a temporary phenomenon in the first month of release, it is difficult to ask for an increase…”
I said to the head of the production team, who was waving the horse’s tail.
“Ask the assembler to extend the line.”
“yes? It will not be easy to convince you because there is no guarantee of production, but…”
“You can guarantee the production volume.”
“..how do you mean to guarantee…?”
“How much D-Phone 1 do you have left now?”
“Wait a minute…huh?”
The production team leader who was looking through the materials gave me a surprised expression and answered me.
“..3 million pieces…this is obviously 3.7 million pieces at the beginning of this month…why has it decreased so much?”
In general, when a new product is launched, sales of an existing product tend to drop sharply.
I was surprised that the D Phone 1 sold better than I expected.
“With the release of the D Phone 2, we have reduced the price from this month. For the time being, there will be quite a lot of production, so we need to increase the production of D Phone 1 anyway. By expanding the assembly line, we can meet the quantity of D-Phone 2 currently outgoing, and if the amount of D-Phone 2 assembly decreases later, we can increase the production of D-Phone 1 by that much.”
