"AI may generate answers, but understanding and applying them remain fundamentally human."

That question framed a public conversation at UNIST on May 6 featuring UNIST Collaborating Professor Sedol Lee and Go grandmaster Changho Lee, who reflected on the future of human judgment, creativity, and learning in an age increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.

Held before an audience of more than 200 students, faculty members, and members of the public, the event inaugurated UNIST Open Stage 1, a new lecture series launched alongside the establishment of the School of GRIT Convergence Studies. Moderated by Professor Cheol-Min Ghim, Head of the school, the conversation explored what the culture and discipline of Go can reveal about thought, resilience, and decision-making in the age of AI.

Titled “The Future Foretold on the Board: Sedol Lee and Changho Lee on the Defining Move of the AI Era,” the discussion explored how AIphaGo transformed professional Go while reshaping broader ideas about expertise, creativity, and human judgment.

Although AI systems now surpass humans in many forms of strategic analysis, both speakers argued that interpretation, discernment, and the ability to formulate meaningful questions remain distinctly human capacities.

“AI can produce stronger and faster answers,” said Professor Sedol Lee. “But people still have to decide what questions are worth asking and how those answers should be understood and applied.”

Changho Lee drew a distinction between receiving information and truly understanding it. “Seeing the correct move is different from understanding the process behind it,” he said. “Even when AI presents an answer, the work of making that insight one’s own still belongs to the individual.”

The discussion later turned to failure, reflection, and the role of adversity in learning. Drawing on their experiences at the highest levels of professional competition, both speakers described how setbacks often become the basis for growth and self-understanding.

“Losses tend to stay with you longer than victories,” Changho Lee said. “Carefully revisiting those difficult moments is often what prepares you for the next challenge.”

Professor Sedol Lee added that creativity itself is shaped through repeated experimentation and failure. “New ideas rarely emerge all at once,” he said. “They come from continually testing your thinking, reconsidering assumptions, and searching for different possibilities.”

UNIST centered the inaugural Open Stage around Go because few fields confronted the arrival of AI as early—or as visibly—as professional Go. For the university, the discussion also reflected the broader educational philosophy behind the School of GRIT Convergence Studies, which emphasizes self-directed inquiry, interdisciplinary thinking, and intellectual resilience.

Scheduled to admit its first cohort in 2027, the School of GRIT Convergence Studies will allow students to design individualized academic pathways based on their own research questions and intellectual interests. The curriculum will center on project-based inquiry and close faculty mentorship, supported by a P/NR (Pass/No Record) evaluation system designed to encourage experimentation and intellectual risk-taking.

Professor Ghim said the initiative reflects the evolving role of higher education in an AI-driven world. “As knowledge becomes increasingly accessible through AI, universities must place greater emphasis on helping students develop original questions, think across disciplines, and engage deeply with uncertainty,” he said. “We want students to build not only expertise, but also the intellectual resilience required to pursue difficult problems over time.”

President Chong Rae Park of UNIST said the event highlighted the enduring importance of creativity, perseverance, and judgment in a rapidly evolving technological landscape. “AI may transform how knowledge is produced and accessed, but qualities such as judgment, creativity, and perseverance will only grow more important,” he said. “Universities have a responsibility to help students cultivate those qualities in meaningful and lasting ways.”

UNIST plans to continue the Open Stage series with invited speakers from science, technology, and the arts. Later this month, internationally recognized media artist and Ayoung Kim, also a Collaborating Professor at UNIST, will participate in a screening and artist talk as part of the series.