Your “Lee Sedol” Moment

A Reflection on the Rapid Evolution of AI

In the last few years, a small circle of AI powerhouses has propelled the development of Large Language Models (LLMs) at a staggering pace. What we’re witnessing is a race that goes beyond research milestones—it’s an intense competition among a handful of “Model Developers”, each pushing boundaries to make the most profound breakthroughs in speed, capacity, and intelligence.

Meanwhile, every other industry—from healthcare to retail to education—has effectively transformed into “Model Consumers”. They’re busy grappling with the challenge of integrating these ever-smarter models via chatbots, APIs, fine-tuning, or even designing AI-driven (multi)agents to augment complex human tasks.

This rapid evolution calls to mind the legendary defeat of Lee Sedol, one of the world’s best Go players, by DeepMind’s AlphaGo in 2016. For Go enthusiasts, it was a shockwave: the very best human could be outperformed by an AI in a game that was once considered too nuanced and strategic for machines to master. More than just a match, that event was a symbolic revelation, shaking the belief that there are domains where human expertise is untouchable. I refer to this as the “Lee Sedol Moment”—the point in time when it becomes indisputably clear that AI can outperform even the leading experts in tasks once deemed unassailable by machines (close to human intuition).

Reflecting on YOUR “Lee Sedol” Moment

It’s sobering to consider that we all, too, may be approaching our own “Lee Sedol Moment.” Perhaps it will happen when we watch an AI agent compose a well-structured legal brief in seconds, or when we see a chatbot accurately diagnose complex medical conditions that took years of human specialization to master. Whenever it occurs, this moment of realization hits with both awe and discomfort. It’s one thing to witness AI excel in abstract tasks; it’s another to see it challenge the very essence of the work you identify with—your specialty, your livelihood, and your pride.

Yet these moments are also powerful catalysts. They compel us to question how we can partner with these tools, using their unparalleled speed and scope to amplify our own capabilities. We shift our thinking to new questions: How can we adapt our skill set to remain indispensable? How can AI handle the rote and routine so we can focus on the strategic and imaginative? What does the world look like when machine-driven intelligence becomes the bedrock of every major industry?

A Rapidly Accelerating AI Landscape

It’s astounding to note how far Generative AI has come in just two short years. Early models were limited experiments, largely confined to research environments. Now, LLMs produce highly coherent text, engage in near-human dialog, generate functional software code, and reshape how we learn, work, and create. The confluence of massive data sets, sophisticated algorithms, and enormous investment has led to an era of AI refinement that seems to progress overnight, forcing individuals and organizations to keep pace or risk irrelevance.

5 Activities Facing Their "Lee Sedol Moment"

1. Product Development – Teams that once relied on intuition and experience to shape digital products are now confronted with AI-driven insights that can predict user needs with uncanny accuracy. The challenge is no longer about ideation but about how to stay relevant when AI can anticipate and design solutions faster.
2. Technical Training and Upskilling – Traditional methods of training are being overshadowed by AI-powered platforms that personalize learning paths with incredible precision. The realization that machines can guide technical growth more effectively than human mentors is a transformative shift.
3. Product-Market Fit Analysis – Companies that relied on market research and customer interviews are facing AI models capable of processing vast data sets to pinpoint market fit with precision humans can’t match, forcing a rethinking of traditional validation approaches.
4. Customer Support and Experience – Support teams are witnessing AI chatbots and virtual assistants resolving complex customer issues with increasing effectiveness. The moment when customers prefer AI-driven interactions over human support will redefine service roles entirely.
5. Strategic Decision-Making – Executives who have long relied on experience and intuition are realizing that AI-driven analytics can provide deeper, data-backed insights faster than they ever could manually, challenging long-held notions of leadership and decision-making authority.

Embracing the future with thoughtful adaptation

These moments can be unsettling, but they also offer valuable opportunities for reinvention.

If, in your field, AI surpasses human capability in tasks once thought to require uniquely human expertise, it’s both a wake-up call and a moment of clarity. It challenges us to lean in, reevaluate, and evolve. By recognizing the transformative power of these technologies—and our own power to respond creatively—we can anticipate the impacts of emerging technologies, and decide how to progress.

Ultimately, each of us will face a “Lee Sedol Moment.” The question is how we will use that moment: as a point of resignation, or as an invitation to explore new possibilities.

One thing is certain: This is the worst AI will ever be! And as it reshapes industries and professions, individuals will respond in different ways. Some will embrace it, adapting and leveraging its power to unlock new opportunities, while others will remain in denial, citing current limitations such as 'it’s not good at math yet' or 'it hallucinates too much.' However, history has shown that those who acknowledge and work with transformative technologies ultimately thrive, while those who resist risk being left behind.