In the age of AI, two speakers point to what makes humans irreplaceable at Global Biz Forum
Two business leaders from very different fields raised the same question: How do we remain irreplaceable as artificial intelligence continues to take over work once considered uniquely human?
Cho Myung-hwan, president of the international humanitarian NGO World Vision Korea, and Koo Bum-joon, CEO of the online lecture platform Sebasi -- short for “15 minutes: time to change the world” in Korean -- came together to explore that idea during the Global Biz Forum held on Wednesday, hosted by The Korea Herald and Herald Business, at the Ambassador Seoul Pullman Hotel.
Cho stressed that the value of consilience is growing in the age of AI, a lesson he said he has learned repeatedly throughout his life.
He shared that he was once a sponsored child who received support for 45 years from an American donor named Edna, before becoming an AIDS researcher in the United States.
He also spoke candidly about failing classes, being briefly expelled from a US university due to poor grades, co-founding a biotech startup that was later absorbed into Celltrion, and eventually moving into global nonprofit leadership.
Through all those transitions, Cho said, the skill that mattered most was the ability to cross boundaries.
“We’re entering a time when the borders between the humanities, natural sciences and social sciences are dissolving,” he said.
Future leaders, he added, won’t be narrow specialists but “T-shaped” people with both depth and range.
Koo opened his lecture with a video featuring an AI-generated version of himself, noting that even creative roles are now vulnerable to automation.
“More degrees or more certificates won’t protect us anymore,” he said. “But AI cannot replicate a meaningful story that comes from experience.”
Koo, whose show has produced more than 2,200 lectures and is often described as the Korean version of TED Talks, offered four questions he believes everyone should ask to shape their own narrative.
The first is, “Why do I do what I do?” He said the answer matters because a clear reason is what ultimately moves people to act. Even if the reason feels stupid, having one is what gives work meaning, he explained.
“Back in 2011, when social media was exploding, we promoted Sebasi by leaning heavily on that very question ‘why we were creating it,’” he said.
The second question is about seeing the familiar with fresh eyes.
Citing examples ranging from Netflix and Airbnb to a US cereal company that boosted sales simply by tilting the shape of its cereal pieces by 45 degrees to create a new “diamond cereal,” from an existing square one, he argued that innovation often starts not with inventing something entirely new but by reinterpreting what already exists.
The third question focuses on growth through unfamiliar environments.
“Think about it,” he said. “When you’re with family or close friends, conversations rarely turn into real debates. It’s usually nagging or routine talk, the kind that keeps relationships going but doesn’t lead to real reflection.”
Ironically, he noted, people tend to engage more deeply with strangers.
“On social media, someone you’ve never met will respond immediately. You say something, and suddenly you have people agreeing, arguing or challenging you, and that pushes you to think.”
The final question is about self-trust. “The power to believe in yourself before anyone else is what completes your story,” he said, recalling how he pushed ahead with launching his lecture series despite resistance inside his own organization.
Koo concluded that in the age of AI, the people who remain irreplaceable will be “those who ask questions and those who own their own narratives.”
“What matters more than credentials is the ability to turn personal experiences into meaning,” he added.
The lectures were part of the eighth edition of the Herald Global Biz Forum, held every Wednesday. Since its launch, the GBF has hosted 720 CEOs and policy leaders from Korea and abroad, establishing itself as one of the country’s leading executive business platforms.
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