“Which major should I choose?” This is the most urgent question for students and parents living in the AI era. Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) Department of Software Engineering Professor Jae-Hyeok Cho (specializing in artificial intelligence) went directly into the field to find the answer.

Professor Cho visited high schools and major career fairs in May and June and delivered special lectures on career and college pathways in the AI era and changes in future occupations. He aimed to provide students with guidance so they would not lose their way amid a rapidly changing technological environment.

On May 23, Professor Cho visited Seongbo High School in Seoul and, through a special lecture titled 'Career and Occupation Briefing (Artificial Intelligence and Software Fields),' broadly introduced the current state of AI technology development, future industrial changes, and career prospects in the software and AI fields.

On June 13, at the '2026 Iksan Science Festival & Career and College Fair' held at Wonkwang University, he gave a lecture for elementary, middle, and high school students and their parents under the theme 'The Future Changed by AI: Reality Check on Careers and College Admission.'

In both lectures, Professor Cho introduced rapidly evolving technologies such as generative AI, AGI (Artificial General Intelligence), Agentic AI, and Neural-Symbolic AI, and emphasized that the future employment landscape is already changing at a fast pace.

He particularly stressed that going forward, the ability to adapt to changing environments and to use AI effectively will be far more important than choosing specific occupations or majors. Accordingly, he advised students that developing problem-solving skills, creative and interdisciplinary thinking, together with AI utilization skills, is key to securing future competitiveness.

Professor Cho explained that as AI spreads across all sectors — healthcare, manufacturing, finance, education, and content industries — new jobs and industries are constantly emerging. He emphasized the need to shift the perspective from viewing AI as a substitute that takes jobs to seeing it as a tool for collaboration.

Professor Cho said, “In future society, the ability to quickly understand and apply new technologies to solve problems will become more important than knowing a lot of specific knowledge,” and added, “Students should embrace AI as a tool to actively use to enhance their own competitiveness rather than fear it, and through this they can grow into leaders who drive the changing future society.”

Professor Jae-Hyeok Cho is currently conducting various AI convergence studies, including artificial intelligence, Agentic AI, medical and environmental data analysis, and explainable artificial intelligence (XAI). He is also actively continuing educational activities to expand the social application of AI technologies and to cultivate future talent.