[Part 1] AI and Humans: The Boundary Between Illusion and Reality
[Part 2] AI and Humans: Understanding AI Correctly
[Part 3] AI and Humans: Changes and Control in the AI Era
[Part 4] AI and Humans: Creativity and Senses: The Combination of the Five Senses Gifted by the Divine
[Part 5] AI and Humans: AI and Human Territory—Untapped Even in the Future
[Part 6] AI and Humans: Utilizing ASI, Understanding Humans, and New Changes
[Part 7] AI and Humans: Changes and Preparations Amid the Shift to the AGI Era
[Part 8] AI and Humans: Industrial Innovation and the Emergence of Humanoids in the AGI Era
[Part 9] AI and Humans: New Frontiers and Possibilities Unlocked by AGI and ASI
[Part 10] AI and Humans: Why Human Safety is Essential in the AI AGI ASI Era
[Part 11] AI and Humans: The Core of Peaceful Legal and Fiscal Framework in the AI AGI ASI Era
[Part 12] The Evolution of AI, AGI, and ASI and the Challenge of Human Peace
Written by Im Byoung-min (IBM) Columnist
To date, recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize have been individuals who made tangible contributions to global peace. In the era of quantum computing and digital AI, humanity’s survival will depend not on technological advancement alone, but on ethical conduct aligned with social norms and moral responsibility. Leaders who undermine peace, incite violence, or legitimize war lack the dignity required of public office and pose direct threats to global stability.
The world is rapidly entering a digital quantum age. Quantum matter—once abstract and invisible—now underpins emerging technologies. Though we cannot see quantum particles, we live by invisible air and visible water, accepting both as essential realities. We are already living in the age of quantum mechanics. Through superposition, entanglement, and observation, quantum science suggests a world where even vast cosmic distances are no longer barriers to connection. In such an era, humanity must seek new standards of leadership and new figures worthy of advancing peace under conditions shaped by quantum computing and AI-driven communication.
If humanity seeks survival rather than destruction, peace must be actively created. Peace is the foundational structure that allows societies to function within their natural environments. Without peace, life becomes unsafe, unstable, and future planning nearly impossible. Peace is a prerequisite for human survival and dignity. It enables stable human relationships, sustains communities, supports education, protects justice and human rights, and ensures the proper functioning of laws and institutions. In peaceful societies, trust deepens, cooperation expands, and people feel secure. Peace is therefore not an abstract ideal but a basic requirement for a meaningful human life.
The enemies of peace extend beyond those who initiate wars. They include all forces that undermine stability and coexistence. Direct violence—war and armed conflict—destroys peace openly and inflicts immeasurable suffering. Structural violence, though less visible, is equally damaging. It manifests through poverty, inequality, racism, corruption, and political repression, depriving people of basic dignity and opportunity. Psychological violence further erodes peace by numbing empathy and normalizing indifference to suffering. Leaders driven by power and economic greed—those who seek to monopolize wealth and resources—represent the gravest danger to humanity in the digital AI era.
According to 2025 estimates, the Russia–Ukraine war has resulted in more than 1.18 million Russian military casualties and approximately 436,000 Ukrainian military casualties, with civilian deaths exceeding 14,500. These figures only hint at the true human cost. In July 2022, a Russian missile strike on a hospital in Vinnytsia killed 24 people and injured more than 200. Among the victims was the mother of Roman Oleksiv, who was seven years old at the time. He later testified that he could not recognize her body—only her hair. This represents the deepest form of human loss, a trauma that endures for a lifetime.
Wars must end immediately. No justification can excuse such suffering. The responsibility lies with those who choose continuation over cessation. Humanity cannot accept perpetual conflict as inevitable.
The AI era represents a “Big Bang” of intelligence. Humanity must move toward a new civilization free from war. As we approach AGI and ASI communication systems, split-second decisions may carry existential consequences. Conflict and war must be eliminated permanently. Unlike animals governed by instinct alone, humans possess reason, restraint, and moral accountability. Through language, culture, and civilization, humanity must govern itself responsibly and ensure that no life—human or otherwise—is harmed within Earth’s ecosystem. In the digital AGI era, compromise and restraint are not options; they are necessities.
The average human runs at roughly 15 kilometers per hour, while rockets travel nearly 29,000 kilometers per hour—almost 2,000 times faster. Similarly, the emergence of AGI marks a turning point where machine intelligence begins to surpass human cognition. This is the true intelligence singularity. Yet humanity’s defining trait since the emergence of Homo sapiens—roughly 300,000 years ago—has been wisdom rooted in cooperation, sharing, and care for others.
In a world of abundance, the concepts of absolute ownership must give way to shared responsibility. Humans are thinking beings, accountable for their judgments. No matter how advanced AI or humanoid systems become, they cannot replicate the complexity of human life. Technology must remain a tool, not a ruler. The task of humanity is to govern the planet responsibly, placing all AI systems firmly under human oversight. Only through ethical restraint, cooperation, and peace can humanity survive the quantum-powered AGI and ASI era.
As this series concludes, it reaffirms that peace remains both the starting point and the ultimate measure of every discussion surrounding artificial intelligence.
Korean version available here.
