UNIST will bring together two of the most influential figures in the history of Go—Grandmaster Changho Lee and Collaborating Sedol Lee at UNIST—for a public dialogue on the evolving role of human judgment, creativity, and resilience in the era of artificial intelligence.

The event, titled “The Future Foretold on the Board: Changho Lee and Sedol Lee on the Defining Move of the AI Era,” will take place on Wednesday, May 6 in the Main Administration Building of UNIST. Open to both the university community and the public, it marks the inaugural session of UNIST Open Stage 1, a new lecture series launched to celebrate the establishment of the School of GRIT Convergence Studies.

Framed through the lens of Go—a discipline that demands both rigorous calculation and intuitive insight—the conversation will explore how human thinking has adapted in response to AI, particularly in the wake of AlphaGo. Drawing on their distinct careers and experiences at the highest level of competition, the two speakers will reflect on decision-making under uncertainty, the meaning of failure and recovery, and the uniquely human capacities that remain critical in an increasingly automated world.

UNIST selected Go as the thematic anchor for this opening program because it embodies the qualities central to the School of GRIT Convergence Studies: disciplined reasoning, creativity, persistence, and the ability to learn through challenge. These same qualities underpin the school’s approach to education.

The School of GRIT Convergence Studies introduces a new model of undergraduate education at UNIST. Students design their own academic pathways based on individual research questions and career goals, rather than following predefined majors. The curriculum is built on project-based inquiry, supported by close, one-on-one faculty mentorship. To encourage intellectual risk-taking, the program adopts a P/NR (Pass/No Record) evaluation system in place of conventional grading. Graduates will receive degrees in interdisciplinary science or engineering, with their self-designed fields formally recognized.

The school is currently preparing its academic structure and plans to admit its first cohort—approximately 10 students—beginning in the 2027 academic year.

“A single question a student chooses to pursue can become the foundation of an entire academic journey,” said Professor Cheol-Min Ghim, Head of the School of GRIT Convergence Studies. “Our aim is to cultivate individuals who can persist through uncertainty and chart their own paths in a world shaped by artificial intelligence.”

“In the AI era, the role of the university is to help students develop the capacity to ask meaningful questions, navigate failure, and discover solutions independently,” said UNIST President Chong Rae Park. “We hope this dialogue offers a timely opportunity to reflect on the enduring value of human insight and resilience.”

UNIST Open Stage will continue as a public program featuring leading voices from science, technology, and the arts. A screening and artist talk by internationally acclaimed media artist Ayoung Kim, also a Collaborating Professor at UNIST, is scheduled for later this month.