(C) SmythOS

SEOUL — As the era of Artificial Intelligence transformation (AX) accelerates, the paradigm of business strategy is shifting from "AI as a tool" to "AI as a colleague." At the CIO Summit 2026, held on February 26 at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas, South Korea's leading Chief Information Officers (CIOs) declared that the key to future competitiveness lies in "Hybrid Intelligence"—the seamless harmony between human intuition and machine efficiency.

Beyond Automation: The Rise of Hybrid Intelligence
The summit, themed "Harmony of Humans and AI: The Key to Multi-Agent Success," emphasized that true digital transformation is not about replacing humans, but about creating a "co-evolutionary loop." This strategy focuses on combining human creativity, empathy, and ethical judgment with AI’s data-processing power to solve complex global challenges that neither could tackle alone.

Strategic Resource Allocation: The 80/20 Rule
Hyun-shik Oh, Sangmu (Executive Director) of the AI Innovation Center at Lotte Innovate, clarified that harmony is more than just coexistence; it is about sophisticated design.

"The real competitive advantage comes from the ability to design who—human or AI—is best suited for which task," Oh stated. He noted that while simple tasks should be automated, complex, high-value tasks require a human-centric approach. "By delegating routine processes to AI, we can reallocate 80% of our human talent to the top 20% of high-difficulty strategic goals. Managing this 'co-evolution loop' is the essence of Hybrid Intelligence."

Trust and Literacy in Finance
In the financial sector, the focus is on "Trust." Kyoung-jong Lee, Head of the Financial AI2 Center at KB Kookmin Bank, defined the harmony of intelligence as a state where AI acts as an "essential agent" that alleviates the pain points of frontline employees.

Lee emphasized that for this transition to be successful, employees must possess three core AI Literacies:

Technical Proficiency: Understanding and utilizing AI tools.
Structural Frameworking: The ability to build processes around AI.
Ethical Judgment: Ensuring integrity in AI-driven decisions.

Solving the 'Iron Triangle' in Healthcare
The healthcare industry is also looking to AI to break the long-standing "Iron Triangle" of accessibility, quality, and cost. Jun-seok Lim, Head of Digital Health at Yonsei University Health System, argued that harmony in medicine means "amplifying human expertise." By integrating AI-powered remote reading and auxiliary diagnostics, hospitals can redesign workflows to increase accuracy while simultaneously reducing costs.

The Future of the Multi-Agent Era
The CIO Summit 2026 concluded with a consensus that the next frontier is the Multi-Agent system, where various specialized AI agents work together under human supervision. For organizations to thrive, the shift from "Artificial Intelligence" to "Collaborative Intelligence" is no longer optional—it is a mandatory blueprint for the next decade.