The Growth of Deepmind
"South Korea? Are you saying that the United States' real-time facial recognition and object detection technologies are lagging behind Korea? Why are you using Korean technology instead of applying American tech?"
"According to our research, while there are many companies in the U.S. that possess image recognition technology, there isn't a single one that has reached the level of real-time video recognition required for this specific purpose."
"Hmm... Then when do you plan to introduce it?"
"We plan to implement it in a few schools on a trial basis first, and if its effectiveness is proven, we will expand from there."
"Understood. If you submit your future plans, we will also participate in the oversight."
The news reported on the congressional audit regarding school shootings, noting that if facial and object recognition functions were introduced, there could be issues such as privacy infringement and racial discrimination, and thus, the establishment of countermeasures was being demanded.
Miso, who was removing her makeup, looked puzzled as Taesik focused on the news.
"What's on the news?"
"The details of the consultation I had with Brian from the FBI yesterday are being broadcast."
"At this rate, Starlink is going to become more famous abroad than it is domestically."
While the two were talking, a call came in from CEO Cha Youngjin.
"Representative! Please save me. I don't know how the media found out about the FBI collaboration, but they're requesting interviews again. And American media outlets are asking for interviews, too!"
"You've done it once, so it should be easy. You handle it, CEO Cha."
Taesik coldly hung up the phone and pulled Miso into his arms as they headed to the bedroom.
CEO Cha Youngjin, who had called to seek advice from his representative, made a tearful face as Taesik hung up so heartlessly, and called out to Researcher Lee Sangwook nearby.
"Researcher Lee! You do this interview!"
"Me...? No way. I'm just a supporting role in this project, not the lead."
"Honestly, this work was just a partial modification of the previous S/W, so you did all of it! You proceed with it. I'll give you an incentive!"
"Heh heh heh. You know. I hold Edison Motors stock, so incentives don't mean much to me... With Edison Motors' stock price where it is, why would I bother with such trivial work?"
"Can't you just do it...?"
CEO Cha Youngjin clung to Researcher Lee Sangwook, then looked at the other employees nearby, but they all scattered, not wanting to make eye contact with the CEO. In the end, CEO Cha decided to conduct a joint interview with both domestic and foreign reporters, meeting with the reporters stationed at the Korean branches of the foreign media outlets all at once.
Domestic reporters mainly asked about the export of Deepmind's AI surveillance system to the U.S. market, but foreign reporters brought up issues related to personal privacy, such as infringement of rights.
"Mr. Cha. There is a possibility of infringing on fundamental rights by collecting extensive personal facial information. Do you have any countermeasures for this?"
Swallowing hard, he replied.
"I believe that technological advancement is like two sides of a coin. It depends on how the user utilizes it, and how the U.S. government operates the system we supplied. Our system is equipped with a function to erase facial information, and there are methods in place to protect personal information depending on the operator's will."
Having answered the difficult question calmly, CEO Cha took a sip of water and took the next question.
"You there, please ask your question."
"Looking at recent papers, they say there are many data errors regarding specific races. What is the accuracy of Starlink Deepmind's system by race?"
"Our system does not process skin color as data. The facial fingerprints we utilize extract characteristics from 80 node points. We extract and compare data using features such as jawline length, cheekbone shape, distance between eyes, eye socket depth, and nose width to verify matches. And because we extract data from continuous motion rather than from a single scene in a CCTV feed, the accuracy is at a level of up to 98.8%."
"Then, is there no possibility of malfunction if the data accuracy drops momentarily?"
"Because the system tracks the movement of entrants, once a specific person is captured on CCTV and their identity is verified, it does not malfunction."
"These days, young people frequently use Photoshop to alter their photos, causing problems at immigration. Wouldn't such cases occur with Deepmind?"
"Hahaha. I've seen related articles, too. Our system has a method to register photos, but you can also register and use facial information directly. Even if you register identity information via a photo, once the identity is verified, additional data is stored to resolve such concerns. It's technology made possible because it's AI-based."
"Facial recognition information has a high potential for misuse if leaked, much like the resident registration numbers used in Korea. Do you have any countermeasures for this?"
"As you know, I am a former hacker. I am well aware that information leaks due to hacking cause many social problems. Since there is currently no technology that can prevent hacking 100%, Starlink plans to recommend that the U.S. government operate the security system on a closed network in addition to the security measures we have devised ourselves."
"Isn't there a possibility that the operator could steal the data if they set their mind to it?"
"If we store facial recognition data on Starlink servers, hacking prevention is possible, but wouldn't the U.S. government agree to storing domestic data overseas? It seems the U.S. government will need to establish data management and operation guidelines."
Once the questions from the foreign press, which were sharper than those of the domestic reporters, were over, CEO Cha Youngjin left a remark that he would end the interview. Starlink employees then showed the reporters videos of the autonomous driving, autonomous flight, and swarm flight technologies held by Deepmind while the foreign media were gathered.
The next day, domestic media carried feature articles on Deepmind's technological prowess expanding to the world, while foreign media reported on the problems and ripple effects of facial recognition CCTV used in school settings.
After the major media reports, recruitment inquiries from people hoping to work at Deepmind poured in, and CEO Cha Youngjin had a headache due to the complaints from the HR manager. Since Deepmind was a small company, there was only one HR manager, and she reported that she could not handle all the work by herself, suggesting that they either reinforce the staff or allow the necessary departments to hire the personnel they needed on their own.
CEO Cha, concerned that the research-oriented work environment might change if Deepmind's organization grew, gathered the entire Deepmind staff for a discussion. The employees, who had been doing their own work in front of their computers, gathered in the conference room, puzzled by the sudden summons. When the HR manager noticed that a few employees were missing, she sent something from her phone and wore a triumphant expression.
Curious, CEO Cha Youngjin asked.
"Assistant Manager Park Jihee! Did you send a text to the employees who aren't here?"
"Yes! They'll probably be here within a minute."
"What did you send?"
During their conversation, the employees who hadn't appeared in the conference room came running in, causing the conversation to stop. The late employees sat down, glancing nervously at Assistant Manager Park.
"Ho ho ho. I sent a text saying I would delay their salary by one day for every minute they were late to the meeting."
CEO Cha sighed at the employees who were more wary of Assistant Manager Park than of him, and then explained the problems regarding Deepmind's recruitment to the staff. Deepmind was a development-centric organization, so excluding the support departments, there were only about 20 developers, and most of them were not hired through regular recruitment but were hired after being recommended by existing employees who knew their skills.
After explaining the recruitment issues, he openly asked the employees for their opinions on how to hire staff for future collaborations, but most of them kept their heads down with expressions of disinterest. With no opinions offered by the staff, Assistant Manager Park shouted loudly.
"You're the ones who will be working with the new people, not me! Should I just pick anyone? Can you work with just anyone?"
Everyone flinched at Assistant Manager Park's shouting and raised their hands. CEO Cha, having lost the initiative, handed the meeting proceedings over to Assistant Manager Park. She pointed to a developer who had raised his hand and continued.
"Anyone who doesn't give an opinion today will have their salary paid like a daily wage. Be prepared! Researcher Hong, what is your opinion?"
"Our place isn't one where academic background is important, but software ability is. Instead of a standard application, how about we pick people who can develop the S/W programs we assign?"
"Researcher Hong, can you come up with the problems?"
"A... a few are possible."
As lasers shot from Assistant Manager Park's eyes, another employee quickly raised their hand and began to speak.
"It's possible if we set some of the difficult tasks we're currently working on as entrance exam problems. And I think it would be helpful to pick from those who implement the corresponding S/W."
Everyone nodded, saying it was better than a general interview. Assistant Manager Park fell into deep thought for a moment, then said.
"Then we can make the people who solve the problems you set the first-round qualifiers, but how will you pick the final qualifiers? And 20% of the current applicants are foreigners, how will you talk to them? Is everyone confident in English?"
Everyone hesitated at the mention of being confident in English. Researcher Hong, who had given his opinion earlier, raised his hand.
"We communicate via messenger rather than conversation during work."
The lasers from Assistant Manager Park's eyes turned toward Researcher Hong, and he immediately lowered his head.
"Ugh! Is there anyone here who can't communicate in English with foreigners via messenger? Can we hire people who can communicate in English?"
When no one raised their hand, Assistant Manager Park declared.
"Submit the number of personnel needed and the entrance exam problems by department by the time you leave today. If you're even one minute late, that department's salary payment will be delayed. And I can't handle this with paperwork. Researcher Hong, please develop a recruitment program to use on our company website."
Everyone nodded in agreement at Assistant Manager Park's shouting, and CEO Cha also glanced at her and made the final decision. Just as the meeting was about to end, Researcher Lee Sangwook, the deputy lead for this U.S. project, came running in, breathless, and said while glancing at Assistant Manager Park.
"Assistant Manager Park! I was out on an external errand, so I couldn't make it on time! I'm sorry!"
Assistant Manager Park glared at Researcher Lee Sangwook to her heart's content, then said.
"Since Researcher Hong is going to make the recruitment program, Researcher Lee, you do the verification! You know what happens if there's even a bug in the program, right?"
Researcher Lee Sangwook nodded hurriedly, and CEO Cha Youngjin, thinking the problems seemed to be resolved one way or another, hurriedly ordered the meeting to disperse.
As soon as the recruitment program was created in a single day, Starlink Deepmind's recruitment site opened, and applications flooded in from both domestic and abroad. Everyone hurriedly closed the window after seeing the coding problem that appeared after entering simple contact information.
When they entered the recruitment site again, a different problem appeared, and a message popped up saying that there were only 3 chances and to complete the coding within 3 hours. The applicants shared information with each other, posting on bulletin boards about how Deepmind's procedure was different from typical companies, and Deepmind once again received attention in the news with the word that academic background was unnecessary and only ability mattered.