Kids now computer savvy – Korean techie

TOKYO: “You may not like smartphone but whether you like it or not [ you are forced to use it] and things are changing [ fast],” according to David Sehyeon Baek, general manager of Korean firm Center for Creative Economy and Innovation, the main speaker on Wednesday on the third day of a five- day conference of mass media practitioners in this city under the auspices of the Asian Productivity Organization ( APO).

He said children as young as four years in Japan, South Korea and European countries are learning programming already.

Baek added that everything will center on software programming and the best way to prepare for that is to start with the children by teaching them encoding and the language of programming.

He said linking with the Internet via smartphones is unavoidable because of the fast- paced lifestyle today and almost every transaction can be done via Wi- Fi connection.

Baek added that Facebook has about 1.5 billion people users at present.

“In [South] Korea, everything is now connected to the Internet. Even opening a car is now done via smartphone. Homes are controlled by smartphones,” he said.

The industrial revolution, according to him, is creating smart factories, smart farms and smart - cluding taking care of one’s health.

Another unavoidable feature of a smart city is robots, which can replace many actions of human beings.

Baek said many jobs will van - ing newspaper reporters, utility company engineers, delivery travel agents, air traffic controllers and pilots, bookkeepers and accountants and interpreters and translators.

He said 2 billion jobs will disappear by 2030.

In South Korea, some 10 percent f bank workers have lost their jobs because people opted transacting via online.

New jobs, however, are being created by the industrial revolution like how to maintain robots and all automation machines.

Baek cited one company that adopted high technology but retained its employees by training them for new skills such as use of sofware programs and machine maintenance.

The industrial revolution, he said, evolved from mechanization, water power and steam power; mass production, assembly line and electricity; computer automation; and cyber physical systems.

APO, composed of 20 member countries, is a globally recognized group that provides practical training through lectures and observational visits.