Lee Se-dol, the Go grandmaster who handed Google's AlphaGo its only defeat in their 2016 match, takes on manual jobs AI cannot yet do in a KBS2 reality show premiering Oct. 23.
"Unemployed Lee Se-dol," a five-episode series, follows him as he washes windows on high-rise buildings and delivers yogurt drinks door-to-door, work that for now remains resistant to AI automation, The Korea Herald reported.
Producer Lee Myung-seop told a press conference at the KBS Annex in Yeouido, Seoul, on Oct. 22 that the concept was inspired by Lee Se-dol's legacy and the 10th anniversary of the AlphaGo match.
"I've always admired Lee Se-dol's distinctive poise and brilliant strategic play. Having seen his fierce competitive spirit through various media appearances, I wanted to work with him," he said.
Lee turned professional at 12 and went on to win 14 major international titles.
He lost the five-game AlphaGo match 4-1 in Seoul in March 2016, but his Game 4 win on March 13 remains the only game a human player has won against AlphaGo in official play.
He retired in November 2019, citing the rise of AI and a dispute with the Korea Baduk Association. "Even if I become No. 1, there is an entity that cannot be defeated," he told Yonhap news agency at the time.
Since then, Lee has lectured at universities, designed board games and appeared on unscripted TV, including the Netflix survival competition series "The Devil's Plan."
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The world’s top Go player Lee Sedol walks with his daughter Lee Hye-lim as he heads for the venue of the last match of the Google DeepMind Challenge Match against Google's artificial intelligence program AlphaGo in Seoul, South Korea, March 15, 2016. Photo by Reuters |
At the press conference, Lee said the new show had been less about mastering any one trade than about understanding life beyond the Go board. "Rather than taking an in-depth look at any particular profession, I feel like I'm getting to experience society and life as a whole through these different jobs," he said.
"I've gained even more respect for people who do physical labor. There were many moments when I realized just how inexperienced I was," he added.
He said he has yet to find a pursuit to fill the place Go left in his life. "Since retiring, I've tried many different things, but I haven't found anything that could truly replace Go, and I'm continuing to search for it," he said.
"That's why I was so grateful and excited when I received the offer to do 'Unemployed Lee Se-dol.' I thought it might actually help me discover something that could take Go's place."
Singer-songwriter Jung Jae-hyung, who co-hosts the show with comedian Jang Do-yeon, said it speaks to broader anxieties about work and the growing influence of AI.
"I think 'Unemployed Lee Se-dol' is a story for everyone who finds themselves out of work," Jung said. "We may feel as though AI is racing ahead while we're being left behind."
Jang said the idea of a job for life is gone, and that while the show is played for laughs, watching it left her wondering what she could do if, for some reason, she could no longer work in broadcasting, Korean news site Dailian reported. It was a scary thought, she said, but one people need to prepare for.
The first episode airs at 8:30 p.m. Seoul time.