The AI Revolution
The AI revolution. "Our Lightning Bolt company began researching autonomous driving more than five years ago already," Lightning Bolt's President Bolt declared proudly before Im Myung-han's camera. It also meant that the autonomous driving demonstrated by the F2s that had raced in a convoy all the way to the outskirts of Seattle, where ID High Tech's research institute was located, had been flawless. Pride overflowed across President Bolt's face. It was only natural. Even when he had walked away from his position as a senior engineer at Boeing and founded a company in Silicon Valley to build electric bicycles, his hobby, he had never dreamed he would reach this point. Of course, even when he left Boeing, his ultimate goal had been electric vehicles. But after founding the company and building electric bicycles with only a single employee, he had come to realize that reality was far from easy. Then everything changed once Yoo Jae-won noticed them and acquired Lightning Bolt. Now they were producing not only electric bicycles but also the world's most advanced electric vehicles. It was the perfect alignment of virtue and profession.
Until the early 2000s, President Bolt had focused his efforts on building electric vehicle infrastructure on Jeju Island. He established an electric vehicle assembly plant and research institute, and every road on the island that cars could travel was digitized and stored in a database. Even old roads were repaved with fresh asphalt and had new lines painted. Battery swap stations were installed everywhere, and Jeju Island enacted special ordinances to resolve the legal requirements for electric vehicles to operate. After perfecting that infrastructure, President Bolt moved to Seattle to produce the mass-market electric vehicle, the F2. If the LV-F1 was a one-of-a-kind masterpiece built with only the finest components without regard for cost-effectiveness to prove the technology, the F2 was a model designed with mass production in mind. A special technology absent from the F1 had also been added: autonomous driving capability.
"Please explain in detail!"
"Of course. This way." At Im Myung-han's words, President Bolt nodded readily. The fact that they had been picked up from the airport in an electric vehicle was a surprise prepared by Yoo Jae-won and President Bolt. It was naturally a device to demonstrate that Lightning Bolt's autonomous vehicle had come this far. When they arrived at the ID High Tech research institute, it was also part of the scripted procedure that President Bolt appeared before Andrey, the institute's director.
President Bolt led them to a stage where a test track resembling a driver's license examination course and a small viewing stand had been prepared. "It's been a while, Director. I trust you've been well?"
Already present were Director Andrey and the institute's renowned researchers. "Yes, thanks to you, Chairman, I've been conducting research while receiving far more generous treatment than I deserve. As a bonus, there have been plenty of interesting sights to behold." Though Director Andrey was Russian-born, his English pronunciation had become as natural as that of an American. The stream of praise that always left listeners embarrassed remained unchanged as well. When Russia collapsed, research personnel were among the first to be cast aside. Yoo Jae-won had been the first to extend a hand to those thrown onto the streets. The people saved at that time numbered not only Director Andrey but well over several hundred. Though more than ten years had passed, Director Andrey had never forgotten that gratitude. Moreover, having witnessed Yoo Jae-won's meteoric rise in America together, his gratitude had accumulated into respect, producing his current reaction.
"Today, it is my honor to introduce the autonomous driving capabilities of the F2 to Chairman, Director, and everyone who has come to this place." President Bolt began his greeting while standing before the installed stage. "No need for many words. Let us witness the demonstration first. F2, begin autonomous driving!"
At President Bolt's command, the F2 waiting on the test track began moving on its own. "Ooh!" The researchers, who always gathered whenever there was something worth watching, reacted enthusiastically. As the autonomous vehicle started moving by itself, gasps of admiration erupted naturally. Until they reached the ID High Tech research institute from Seattle Airport, there had been a driver in the driver's seat. Since autonomous driving licenses had not yet been issued, a licensed driver had to be present for city driving. Furthermore, in case of any malfunction while carrying guests including Yoo Jae-won, someone needed to be aboard to take immediate control. In contrast, the F2 that began moving on the test track had no one inside.
"Lightning Bolt classifies the stages of autonomous driving into six levels. Since the stages begin from zero, the highest is Level 5." Level 0. This stage referred to vehicles without any autonomous driving functions. Level 1 was defined as limited autonomous driving only in specific situations. Features like lane departure prevention and cruise control belonged to Level 1. Level 2 meant autonomous driving functions activated in more general situations than Level 1. The driver must keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel, but the vehicle could handle most situations on its own. Level 3 allowed the driver to remain seated without needing to grip the wheel or keep a foot on the accelerator pedal. The vehicle could handle all controls by itself, recognizing traffic flow and unexpected situations. It even turned signals on and off automatically, and the same applied to hazard lights.
"Level 3! This is the stage the LV-F2 has currently reached." President Bolt announced proudly. The F2 running on the actual test track passed through every course perfectly, as if a human were driving. It even automatically avoided and stopped for a bicycle that suddenly darted onto the road or a test mannequin jaywalking.
"Next is the high-speed driving test track." Following President Bolt's words, screens descended on both sides of the viewing stand. The high-speed track was farther away, appearing small to the naked eye, so a broadcast screen had been prepared. "We have prepared various scenarios ranging from typical highways in high-speed driving situations to sudden unexpected events. Now, F2 high-speed autonomous driving, begin!" President Bolt gripped the microphone and shouted the activation phrase. As if understanding his words, the F2 emitted a "vroom" and accelerated, speeding up on a nearly straight, linear track. The test track located on the outskirts of Seattle was a 12-kilometer oval. It had once been a road in use, but after a faster new road was built, ID High Tech purchased some naturally abandoned sections and, after additional construction, transformed them into a high-speed driving track.
"It's already exceeded 100 km/h!" "Zero to sixty in the four-second range? That's top-tier supercar level!" Murmurs grew among the researchers. Since the test involved an electric vehicle after all, researchers with car enthusiast tendencies had apparently come, causing Im Myung-han's eyes to widen into circles. A computer enthusiast, Im Myung-han was somewhat of an outsider when it came to cars, so his impression of the F2 had been merely that it was impressive. But learning that the F2 matched top-tier supercars left him no choice but to be shocked. And there was even more to be astonished about. What was filming the F2 as it began speeding was not a camera fixed to the track but a drone. Even though no one was separately controlling the drone, it followed the F2 at close range while shooting footage, which was transmitted directly to the screen President Bolt had prepared. Thanks to this, the composition of the footage displayed on the screen was completely different from any motorsport footage seen before. It carried the exact sense of speed as an eagle diving toward its prey. It was at that moment that Im Myung-han and the camera operator's mouths fell open. Though they knew little about cars, they were people with an eye for visuals. For them, high-speed driving footage using a drone was beyond imagination.
Even more surprising was how Yoo Jae-won, President Bolt, and the other researchers remained focused solely on the screen, as if this visual was familiar to them. It made Im Myung-han and the filming team feel as though they were the ones left behind by the times in this space. If Im Myung-han was shocked by the visual beauty created by the drone, the automotive experts could not hide their astonishment at the sight of the driverless F2 stably driving, overtaking, and avoiding obstacles at over 100 km/h. John Edward, an automotive column specialist, was one such expert. After writing a detailed column on a Japanese car, he had been surfing the internet during a brief spare moment when the word "F2" caught his eye. John Edward was also someone whose profession and passion aligned, and his internet surfing naturally involved automotive communities. Since it was his first time logging into the community that day, he naturally looked at the most popular posts first, and at the very top was a post titled "Is the F2 a scam?" The post was plastered with short ten-second video clips, allowing John Edward to immediately grasp the F2's identity. It was the autonomous vehicle F2 that had been revealed in episode two of the program Real Camera, which had become a hot topic for showing the daily life of ID Group Chairman Yoo Jae-won.
"Autonomous driving?" The concept of autonomous driving had been completed long ago, and John Edward had some knowledge of it as well. The German sedan he drove was also equipped with cruise control, one of the autonomous driving functions. That feature, which allowed the car to maintain a constant speed without keeping a foot on the accelerator during highway stretches, was incredibly convenient. When the distance to the car ahead narrowed, it automatically reduced speed, and once a safe distance was secured, it accelerated again. All one needed to do was keep a proper grip on the steering wheel.
"Good heavens!" Yet the F2 in the clip far exceeded John Edward's common sense. From the moment it picked up Chairman Yoo Jae-won and his party at the airport, the autonomous driving footage had appeared. Just as Im Myung-han had been startled to see the driver with hands and feet off the wheel and pedals, John Edward's mouth also fell open. Then, upon arriving at the ID High Tech research institute and watching the vehicle navigate both the urban test track and the highway test track, he felt an indescribable, peculiar sensation. "Is this real?" He even began to suspect it might be fake footage. Perhaps they had moved the steering and accelerator controls to the trunk or hood to make it appear as though the car was moving by itself. In the community John Edward had accessed, people were already arguing over whether it was manipulated or not. But John Edward found himself leaning toward believing the footage was genuine. Moving the steering controls was no easy task, after all, and there was absolutely no reason for the chairman of ID Group, the world's largest IT corporation, to personally step forward and lie.
"I can't just rely on clips. I need to see it myself." John Edward resolved to watch the actual program rather than depend solely on the clips and logged into Timeflex. As expected, the most prominently displayed poster upon logging in was tvM's Real Camera. He clicked on it immediately, but non-paying members could only watch five minutes. Moreover, those five minutes were from the early portion, so the autonomous driving vehicle John Edward wanted to see did not appear. "Hmm, nine dollars a month." Since the price was less than a pizza, John Edward proceeded with the signup without burden. The site supported unified IDs from Email.com, so he only needed to enter his email and check the consent box for personal information usage to complete registration. Payment was also handled in one click. After confirming via his credit card company's text notification service that nine dollars had been charged by Timeflex, John Edward immediately clicked on Real Camera and played episode two. He skipped past the clips he had already seen in the community post and searched for more specialized material. After pressing the fast-forward button several times, the desired content appeared.
"The senses a person uses when driving a car are sight and hearing. Outstanding drivers may even check the road surface texture transmitted through the steering wheel or seat and apply it to their driving, but usually sight and hearing account for most of it. Our Lightning Bolt's autonomous driving technology is also focused on sight and hearing." Having successfully completed the high-speed driving test, President Bolt gave a brief presentation on the autonomous driving system before Yoo Jae-won and the filming team. What John Edward focused on was not President Bolt but the presentation slides displayed on both sides of the viewing stand. "Oh my God." The specifications of the system for implementing the autonomous driving functions applied to the F2 were listed there, and the moment he confirmed them, he received an enormous shock. He had thought implementing such sophisticated autonomous driving would require an incredibly powerful computer. But no matter how hard he looked, he could not find any components that belonged in a supercomputer. At most, what he saw were four Quadro 2000 professional graphics cards and two AMD quad-core CPUs. That level of specifications was something a freelance digital content creator could easily acquire. Yet John Edward's shock was not over.
"Thanks to the learning-type artificial intelligence provided by Chairman Yoo, we were able to reach autonomous driving Level 3 five years faster than I had anticipated." On screen, President Bolt mentioned the term "artificial intelligence" with the expression of a man who had achieved his dream. Artificial intelligence? He had thought the autonomous driving program was a precisely coded program, but artificial intelligence? Then the story changed completely. No, it was not merely a change in story. The very dimension shifted.