The World AI Show, South Korea’s biggest annual information and communications technology exhibition since 2008, finished this year’s three-day event in mid-April 2024. Participated by 445 exhibitors from 10 countries and hosted by the Science Ministry of Korea, this year’s exhibition theme was “Innovation in everyday life, created by AI,” offering the latest updates on global AI trends.
This year’s exhibition categories included products related to emerging tech innovations, including AI, the Internet of Things, extended reality, intelligent mobility like self-driving vehicles, blockchain and security, and quantum computing. South Korea’s leading tech giants, such as Kakao, Samsung, and LG, as well as telecommunication companies, such as KT and SK Telecom, also featured their products and services for this year’s event.
World AI Show 2024
One of the most striking trends from this year’s event was the rapid expansion of extended reality and digital humans. Many booths were manned by companies that create digital avatars for YouTubers or virtual announcers for televised news reports or other types of livestreams. Visitors were offered the unique experience of creating their own AI-generated avatar, as demonstrated in this video where I created my version of an avatar with footage filmed on the spot.
Some companies showed how printed promotions and banners can be recreated in the digital space through augmented reality, scanning pictures as codes and redirecting users’ phones to their videos or imagery. AI solutions were also made to help pet owners, possibly in response to the growing number of pet owners in the country.
AI-assisted products designed for education also caught people’s eyes, like services offering study plans or advising university admissions. From talking robots to magnifiers, we also could see booths that introduce solutions for seniors who live alone or spend a lot of time without other’s assistance. The long-running WIS event serves as the country’s largest marketplace where visitors can see international technologies using generative AI and solutions to improve productivity, an official from the event said. In preparation for next year’s event, the annual WIS successfully marks its position as the must-visit tech convention representing the country.
