South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries establishes chief AI officer post

South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries Group has created the position of chief artificial intelligence (AI) officer (CAIO) to propel a major business transformation through the advancement of ship technology and plant operations.

Industry sources on Monday said the group recently appointed as its first CAIO Kim Young-ok, managing director of the big data and AI team of subsidiary Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering (KSOE), who will devise strategy for AI and big data and coordinate operations.

Having earned a master's degree in AI from Soongsil University in Seoul, Kim has handled AI, big data and digital transformation for IT service provider LG CNS and Hyundai Motor Co. and joined KSOE in September.

The group is the first in the shipping industry to name a CAIO under a plan to promote the application of AI and big data to shipping operations and shipyard construction led by Chung Ki-sun, president of the holding company HD Hyundai and son of the group's largest shareholder.

Conglomerate subsidiaries KSOE and Avikus are developing AI-based autonomous navigation technology for unmanned vessels that allow ships to run on their own without a human crew and optimize navigation based on fuel efficiency.

Chung has designated Avikus' autonomous navigation technology as a key core business of the group, to which it is lending its full support. Launched in December 2020 as the conglomerate's first internal venture and spun off in January of last year, Avikus received 6 billion won ($4.5 million) in investment from HD Hyundai to become a wholly owned subsidiary.

In June this year, the company achieved a world's-first by remotely navigating a large vessel across the Pacific Ocean. The American Bureau of Shipping recognized this feat by issuing the world's first statement of facts related to autonomous vessels to Avikus.

In addition, the group is also pursuing the Future of Shipyard (FOS) project, which seeks to develop and build a smart shipyard that optimizes and automates production using technologies such as AI, the Internet of Things and robotics, with a completion target of 2030. The conglomerate is seeking a joint venture for this project with the world's top big data company, Palantir Technologies of the US.

At CES 2023, which runs Jan. 5-8 in Las Vegas, Chung will announce a series of AI business ideas.

He will present at the world's largest exhibition for consumer electronics his "Ocean Transformation" vision, which seeks a fundamental change in the marine sector's perspective through actions like the application of AI.

Write to Ik-Hwan Kim at lovepen@hankyung.com