Kakao Doubles Down on AI Safety & Native Integration, Reports Dramatic Productivity Gains
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – November 25, 2023 – Kakao, South Korea’s leading mobile platform, today announced important advancements in both AI safety research and the company-wide integration of artificial intelligence into its development processes.The announcements came during a keynote session at Kakao’s 25th Day 2 event, delivered by kakao CTO Chung.
Kakao is actively collaborating with a dedicated AI safety research institute on key areas including safety evaluation, data construction, and technology development. The company recognizes the need for proactive safety measures as AI technology rapidly evolves and is working to establish policies and “guardrails” – extending beyond text-based models to encompass AI-generated images and videos.
“I think AI Safety is based on common standards through continuous discussions and agreements with stakeholders,” chung stated.”We will continue to develop a safer seat belt that meets the speed of technology development.”
Alongside its safety focus, Kakao detailed the progress of its year-long “AI Native” conversion initiative. The company is pursuing a three-stage strategy: starting with AI experimentation by individual and small teams, expanding to organizational-wide adoption and collaboration, and ultimately achieving full AI native conversion at the company level.
Early results demonstrate considerable productivity improvements. In a “Vibe Coding” experiment, a single developer built a full-stack application prototype in just one week using AI tools. This AI-assisted development method was further showcased in an internal hackathon, where participants were able to create a minimum viable product (MVP) in a mere 10 hours. Notably, this year’s hackathon was opened to all employees, not just developers and planners, with 15% of the 75 participating teams comprised solely of non-developers – highlighting the potential for broader innovation.
Kakao also reported significant gains from applying AI tools to its open-source verification system, ‘OLIVE,’ achieving a 50-100% increase in average productivity. An “AI Mileage Program” allowing over 100 developers three months of free access to tools like Cursor and Claude Code showed that 98% of participants experienced shortened development lead times, and 89% reported improved project quality.
Chung emphasized the evolving role of AI within Kakao tech, stating the company is “continuously expanding the role of AI agents throughout the entire software development life cycle (SDLC).” He also highlighted ongoing experiments to foster organic collaboration between humans and AI.
Concluding his remarks, Chung positioned AI not merely as a tool, but as a “technical partner,” defining the “true AI native developer” as someone possessing both technical expertise and a collaborative mindset.
