(Google)

Google, which has been pushed out of the competition for generative artificial intelligence (AI) by ChatGPT, has launched an all-out war by combining the AI chatbot “Bad” equipped with the next-generation large-scale language model (LLM) into 25 products. The company intends to combine “Bad” with most Google products such as e-mail, Android, and cloud, including its main product, search, and change its lifestyle and work style overall through AI.Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in his opening keynote speech at the developer conference “Google I/O” at the Shoreline MP Theater in Mountain View on the 10th (local time), “Making AI helpful to everyone in the future is the most profound way to develop our mission.” If Microsoft (MS) used Chat GPT’s technology to preemptively combine generated AI with search engine “Bing” and then apply it to office programs one by one, Google has started to flip by combining AI with almost all of its products at once as it was late but had a long preparation time.○abad has expanded to 40 languages in 180 countries, and the core of Google I/O is ‘PALM 2′, a next-generation LLM. Google has been conducting research under the name of the project ‘Unified Language Model’ and introduced ‘Palm’ in April last year. Palm 2, an upgraded version released this time, has 540 billion parameters equivalent to synapses in the human brain, more than three times more than GPT-3.5 (175 billion), the LLM of Chat GPT. Through this, learning was conducted in more than 100 languages.

(Google)
Bard, which is equipped with Palm 2, will expand its English version to 180 around the world from that day. Google first opened the use of Bard to the general public only in the United States and the United Kingdom. In addition, from this day on, Bards will be available in Korean and Japanese in addition to English. In response, a Google official said, “First of all, the Korean and Japanese versions of the Bard were released first to receive more feedback quickly and to further improve the service.” There are many Chinese and Spanish by user standards, but it seems to have taken into account the importance of the Korean and Japanese markets and active feedback from developers in these two countries. In the future, the Bard will gradually expand to more than 40 languages. Google Search Smarter With ○ AI Google installed Bard in most services, including search services, to upgrade its performance. In particular, in the search field, AI has been combined to reinforce the visual field so that not only images but also videos can be searched. Google explains that it has improved more visually, easily accessible, personalized, and humanly.

(Google)

“The future of search is to combine the best search engine with the best generation AI,” said Liz Reid, vice president of search. It is explained that the dedicated slot will include clearly labeled advertisements.Currently, a search service that combines AI is under development and can be experienced through “Search Labs.” Ordinary people can also use the function if they put their names on the waiting list. According to the demonstration on this day, if you put questions in the Google search box, various results will be shown first. After that, if you press the AI generation button at the top, a chat window will appear, allowing you to ask follow-up questions in the form of a conversation. Google’s policy is not to show the phrase unless there is a clear source to quell the credibility controversy. For example, if you put it in the search box to recommend a bicycle that is good for commuting, including a hillside, it shows the corresponding search results. Here, AI also recommends more suitable models and helps users choose by informing them of prices, delivery costs, and refund conditions. ○ Google AI to help you with your workAI is also applied to photography. As photos can be modified with AI, unnecessary parts can be erased, or the central subject can be moved to the center. In Google Maps, AI creates a more realistic “emergency view” in 15 major cities around the world, including New York, San Francisco, London, and Tokyo. It will also be introduced to guide the way. Bard can also be used for coding by developers. Entering the desired code in the form of natural language can create a new coding draft, and improve or finish the code you are working on. The code thus generated was made available elsewhere to be exported. In addition, it allows Gmail and Google Docs to draft the text they want. When you write a spreadsheet or presentation, you search for the content you want through the bad and make a draft of the content related to it. Through this, users’ work efficiency can be improved efficiency of users.It will also apply AI to Android, Google’s smartphone operating system (OS). Using the pixel speech function, it translates while listening to voice in real time. It’s like I have an automatic translator in my hand. In addition, photos taken with mobile phones can be easily modified through AI.

jennifer kim
Asia Journal

Kakao Talk is on the verge of being kicked out of the Google Play Store after guiding consumers to outlink web payments in defiance of Google’s in-app payment policy. The meeting between the two sides took place, but it ended with only confirming their position. There is a prospect that it will be a long-term war.
‘Korean messenger’ status Kakaotalk and Google’s long-term war, conscious of global market, is inevitable…”The government needs to come forward and compromise.” Kakao Talk rebelled against Google’s payment policy by providing a “web payment outlink” that can be subscribed at a lower price on the emoticon plus purchase page.
On July 7, executives of Google and Kakao Talk held a private meeting with related departments of the Korea Communications Commission. As Kakao Talk proceeded with the update at the end of May, there was a dispute between the two sides as it introduced a web payment outlink that can be subscribed at a lower price than $1.5 in addition to in-app payment (in-app payment) regarding the emoticon plus subscription service. Since June 1, when Google fully implemented its new payment policy, Kakao Talk’s web payment outlink has still remained on the payment page, which has been a problem. Google refused to review the latest version of Kakao Talk because it did not comply with its payment policy, and Kakao Talk will not be able to service the latest version of Kakao Talk through Google Play from July 1.

The interview held at the Korea Communications Commission was private, so it is not known what was going on. After the meeting, there were reports that Kakao Talk would give up on outlink payments and take a step back, but Kakao said it was “groundless.” Analysts say that a dramatic agreement is unlikely at the moment as both sides remain strong.

Google’s forced in-app payment became controversial in July 2020 when Google announced its plan to expand in-app payments to all apps, which had been forced only in game apps. In-app payment is a payment method in which Google imposes an app market usage fee on the amount of content used in the app, and the apps that have been making sales using Google Play’s distribution network have been targeted.

Google limited the update of applications that do not follow the in-app payment (in-app payment) policy from April 1, 2022, and applied the policy to exit the app market from June 1. The amount of content usage increased sharply by applying fees of up to 30%. Public opinion has worsened, and content creators are also stamping their feet on whether consumers will leave and sales will decrease as the cost of using them has increased.

From Google’s point of view, it is necessary to cover the cost of maintaining, repairing, and operating the app market Google Play, but it will be difficult to secure sales commission sales if apps guide cheaper web payments. In other words, it is an irresistible fight. Some point out that it is similar to a dispute over network usage fees between overseas content platform companies and domestic mobile carriers.

Netflix, a global online video service (OTT) company, is engaged in a legal battle with SK Broadband, Korea’s largest telecommunications company, as it has not paid network fees while generating large amounts of traffic. In June 2021, the first trial court ruled in favor of SK Broadband. At the time, the first trial court ruled, “The Plaintiff (Netflix) is accessing the Internet network through the Defendant (SK Broadband), or at least is provided with a paid service from the Defendant to connect to the Defendant’s Internet network and maintain its connection status.” In other words, SK Broadband is using a network that is maintained and repaired, so it is obligated to pay a price.

An official from the app market industry said, “It’s best to find a way to provide content providers at a low price to consumers, but platform operators need economic motivation to operate the platform,” adding, “In the end, it’s not just a matter of criticizing in-app payments because it’s a matter of who pays for the platform or network.”

Another controversy is the appropriateness of commission rates. It is pointed out that it is never advantageous to Google. Wi Jung-hyun, a business professor at Chung-Ang University, said, “30% of sales is a commission rate that Google, which has monopoly power, makes excessive profits due to its separate advertising costs, but Google has never disclosed the basis for calculating the commission rate.” According to an analysis by the National Assembly’s Science, ICT, and Communication Committee, Google is expected to be able to earn up to $400 million in additional profits in Korea this year by forcing its in-app payment policy.

The solution proposed by the political circle is a revision to the Telecommunications Business Act proposed by Cho Seung-rae, a lawmaker of the Democratic Party of Korea, in 2021. The bill, also known as the Google Gapjil Prevention Act, was created to prohibit Google from profiting by specifying that app market operators cannot enforce certain payment methods against app developers. The problem is that Google easily bypassed the law with the trick of “three-way payment” because the bill was not meticulous. This is why some pointed out that the revised Telecommunications Business Act is not enough to prevent Google’s dominance.

Both Google and Kakao are making it clear that they will not back down. As of August 2021, Kakao Talk’s domestic share was 87%, which has long established itself as a national messenger. Even if the Kakao Talk app is deleted from Google Play, it is unlikely that Kakao Talk’s stronghold, which has already secured an overwhelming share, will be shaken. In addition to consumer opinion, the government is pressuring Google. An official from Kakao Talk said, “We would like to maintain the current policy of guiding users to payment methods other than in-app payments so that they can choose payment methods.”

Google is also tough. This is because disputes with domestic Kakao Talk could be an important precedent amid regulatory movements related to in-app payments in Europe and the United States. In fact, Google has turned a blind eye to Vietnam’s game companies, which have traded in the same way as Kakao Talk, but immediately responded to Kakao Talk in Korea by stopping the update.

Experts predict that negotiations will eventually take place. “It is Kakao that the political circle, the Korea Communications Commission, and the Fair Trade Commission will pressure Google, but it is a company that has only expanded its domestic business, but even global Google will not be an easy fight,” he predicted.”The longer the dispute, the greater the risk of damage to individual content creators than the two companies,” he said. “It is not desirable for the government to intervene quickly and make compromises because regulations can cause balloon effects.

SOPHIA KIM

ASIA JOURNAL

“Google and Facebook make good money here but don’t pay taxes and create no jobs,” Naver founder Lee Hae-jin said, as he was responding to criticism from lawmakers concerning the company’s own alleged abuse of its market dominance.

He was effectively diverting attention away from Naver’s influence on news circulation to reverse discrimination against Korean firms, saying stricter regulations are imposed on local firms while foreign firms enjoy tax pass-through advantages without the social and economic responsibilities here.

Lee’s offensive against Google soon lost steam as the counterpart chose to stay out of the fray, but it has brought, once again, into light the operating status of global firms conducting successful business in Korea.

Many of the global firms here now are registered as limited liability companies, a form of business organization without obligation to external audits or disclosure of financial information. They include the Korean arms of Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, HP, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Pizza Hut and Coca-Cola.

They file their taxes to authorities, but no one knows whether their reported information is accurate to a tee because they do not have to undergo an external audit.

Lawmakers have long demanded “better transparency” for the global firms. They passed a revision of the external audit law last year to force limited liability companies into external audits and disclosure of financial information such as sales, operating profits, net profits, dividend and taxes. The revised law is expected to take effect in November 2019.

“Things will change as the revision of the external audit law is implemented. With the revised law, global firms will be have more eyes watching them,” said Park Yoon-jong, CEO of local accounting firm Anse.

Experts, including Park, have called for tougher regulations, citing there is still room for companies to exploit legal loopholes.

But the revision, whose scope and range are not yet fixed, may provide exceptions for companies based on sales or the number of employees.

For instance, the local arms of Google, Apple and Facebook, whose workforces are relatively small compared to their sales generated here, may be excluded. Or the firms can simply change their entity type. These form, to some hard-line observers, too large a loophole.

“The revision of the law can be makeshift. The best way is to make all companies have external audits regardless of their entity type and then grant an exception if necessary (to small firms for instance),” said Choi Min-sik, a professor lecturing in intellectual property rights at Sangmyung University.

Currently, companies subject to external audits follow a positive list approach, which means the subjects include only listed companies, stock companies with more than 12 billion won ($11 million) in assets or stock companies with more than 300 employees. Choi contended such a positive list approach should be changed into a negative list approach to include all companies doing business activities and to prevent companies from exploiting any legal loophole.

Korea’s taxation of foreign firms is more lax compared to its bigger rivals in the US, the EU and Japan, according to the professor.

The limited liability firms were originally designed to protect firms’ partners from personal liability for the business’s debts. It was initially confined to companies with less than 50 employees.

But, when the limitation on the number of employees was abolished in 2011, many foreign firms changed their entity type into limited liability to benefit from not disclosing financial information. The number of limited liability firms rose 122 percent from 12,091 in 2005 to 26,858 in 2016.

Many global firms, however, have long faced criticism for being elusive in paying taxes, even though most of their dividends and royalties are flown out of the nation, which critics say could otherwise lead to local investments and jobs.

The foreign firms paid dividends twice that of local firms, but invested at half the rate last year, according to corporate information provider CEO Score.

“Korea gives handsome benefits with relatively lax regulations to global firms to attract them. However, many of them were found to enjoy the benefits only and give less social contribution such as donation, hiring or investment,” said Park Ju-gun, head of corporate analysis firm CEO Score.

Despite the country’s relatively small population, global tech firms are reportedly generating handsome revenues in Korea, taking advantage of its advanced technology infrastructure and tech-savvy consumer base. Korea came in third in Google Play and fifth in Apple’s iOS in terms of sales generated in the global mobile app market.

By Ji-hye Shin

(Korea Herald)

Tech firms showcased their latest gadgets at the MWC, which kicked off with the keynote speaker SoftBank Group chief executive Masayoshi Son saying, “Artificial intelligence will be smarter than the human brain within 30 years.”

LG Electronics moved into the limelight at this year’s tech event by outpacing its rival Samsung in revealing its newest smartphone G6, the first non-Google phone to support the Google Assistant, an AI-based voice assistant.

With the adoption of machine learning — the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed — the AI assistant makes its smartphone smarter the more one uses it, the company said.

LG set up a separate room to demonstrate its Google Assistant and how it can be connected to other devices like a smartwatch. When one visitor vice commanded the smartwatch play Michael Jackson, the music was played through the G6 smartphone connected to the watch.

A LG official said, “The Google Assistant, with its open platform, can be further connected with other products like home appliances in the future.”

LG G6′s Google Assistant (The Korea Herald/Shin Ji-hye)

Korean telecom operator SK Telecom also showcased its AI-powered speaker NUGU alongside some home robots made in partnership with local tech companies Future Robot and IPL.

NUGU was demonstrated in English during the event in partnership with IBM’s question-answering computer system Watson. Other robots ran only in Korean language.

Visitors paid keen attention to how NUGU worked, giving out such commands in English as ”tomato spaghetti recipe,” to which the speaker correctly recited the instructions.

Ernst-Joachim Steffens, research director at Deutsche Telekom, said he tried several robots at the event.

“In Germany, we don’t have such home robots although we do have many industrial robots. I want to buy it if the price is affordable,” he said.

SK Telecom’s NUGU (The Korea Herald/Shin Ji-hye)

German automaker BMW, meanwhile, demonstrated its connected car technology outside the main hall in partnership with chipmaker Intel.

When an employee wearing a smartwatch made a gesture, the car parked in a garage moved backward for a driver to get in. It was possible as the sensors in the car can detect objects in its surroundings, according to the firm.

BMW’s autonomous driving technology is expected to be further developed through Intel’s 5G-ready solution platform when the 5G network is fully ready by 2020, it added.

Intel said it will deploy machine and neural learning technology to help the car “think” via cloud.

For instance, if there is a dog standing in front of the car, it will recognize it as a dog because it has the capability to recognize the type of an object and make an instant decision.

“The more the car is used on the road, the car becomes smarter as it collects more data and learns more realistic scenarios even car designers haven’t thought of,” Rob Topol, general manager of Intel’s 5G business and technology unit, told The Korea Herald.

BMW Connected car (The Korea Herald/Shin Ji-hye)