As companies race to adopt artificial intelligence, the next competitive divide may not be determined solely by who has the best models or infrastructure. It could increasingly depend on who can build a broader base of people capable of understanding and applying the technology.
CJ OliveNetworks is approaching that challenge from both sides.
While expanding its AI transformation, or AX, capabilities for businesses, the South Korean IT services company has also spent more than a decade bringing software, data and increasingly AI education to younger generations.
The two activities serve very different purposes. One is a commercial business, while the other is a social contribution initiative. Yet they increasingly point in the same direction: AI transformation requires investment not only in technology, but also in people.
From Software Education to AI Problem-Solving
CJ OliveNetworks began operating employee-led software education programs for young people in 2015. Over time, the initiative has moved beyond basic coding toward data analysis, AI literacy and practical problem-solving.
That evolution was on display this month through “Girls Can Do IT 2026,” a program linked to the CJ-UNESCO Girls’ Education Campaign.
Thirty middle-school girls from nine community child centers in the Seoul metropolitan area participated in the program in cooperation with the CJ Welfare Foundation.
Instead of learning AI as an abstract technology, the students were asked to use it to address a familiar issue: healthy eating.
They studied nutrition and essential nutrients before learning how AI works, how to write prompts and how to analyze and visualize data. During a hackathon held in Seoul on Aug. 22, participants analyzed nutritional data on ingredients and used generative AI to design recipes addressing real-life health concerns.
The students then prepared the dishes themselves and presented the data, AI methods and reasoning behind their ideas.
The format represents a notable shift in digital education. AI is no longer treated simply as a subject to learn, but as a tool for solving problems.
Employee Expertise Becomes an Educational Resource
Another distinctive element of CJ OliveNetworks’ approach is employee participation.
Rather than relying solely on outside instructors, the company has used the technical expertise of its own employees in its youth education programs. During the latest program, employees worked directly with students as mentors through the process of developing ideas, analyzing data and using generative AI.
This creates a different form of corporate social contribution.
For technology companies, financial donations remain important, but their most distinctive social asset may increasingly be the expertise accumulated inside the organization. Engineers, data specialists and AI professionals can provide young people with exposure to technologies and careers that may otherwise remain distant from their everyday lives.
CJ OliveNetworks has built a relatively long track record in this area. Its software education initiative has received multiple public-sector recognitions, including awards from Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT and Ministry of Education. In 2025, its CJ SW Creative Camp also received a Prime Minister’s Commendation, according to the company.
The Digital Divide Is Becoming an AI Divide
The significance of such programs is growing as generative AI becomes embedded in education and work.
The digital divide was once largely associated with access to computers and the internet. The next divide could be more subtle: whether people know how to question AI systems, interpret data, evaluate generated answers and use the technology effectively.
That makes AI literacy increasingly relevant to social mobility and future employment.
Exposure at an early age does not necessarily produce future AI engineers. But giving students experience in using data and AI to solve tangible problems can broaden their understanding of where digital technology is applied — from healthcare and food to manufacturing, logistics and media.
For girls in particular, programs that provide direct contact with technology professionals can also widen the range of careers they consider in fields where women remain underrepresented.
AX Ultimately Comes Back to People
For CJ OliveNetworks, the education initiative also sits alongside a broader corporate transformation.
The company has been expanding beyond its traditional IT services role into AI, big data, smart manufacturing and logistics, cloud infrastructure and other enterprise transformation businesses. Its corporate history shows a growing emphasis on manufacturing AX and AI technologies alongside its longstanding IT operations.
That makes its investment in digital education more relevant than a stand-alone CSR program might suggest.
Enterprise AX and youth AI education are not the same business. Nor should social contribution programs be evaluated simply according to their potential commercial returns.
But they address two sides of the same technological transition.
Companies need AI systems capable of transforming operations. Societies need people capable of understanding and using those systems.
CJ OliveNetworks’ decade-long education effort suggests that the company is increasingly treating those two challenges as complementary rather than separate.
As AI moves deeper into everyday work and life, the companies that contribute to the next phase of digital transformation may ultimately be judged not only by the technology they deploy, but also by how widely they help spread the ability to use it.
