"AI agent (assistant)" has been found capable of not only recommending products consumers need but also making payments with digital currency, according to a pilot test by the Bank of Korea (BOK). An AI assistant refers to an advanced AI program that not only performs chatbot functions that answer questions well but also finds and carries out tasks on its own. The BOK said on the 1st that it recently conducted a pilot test called "AI agent-based digital currency automatic payment system" with LG CNS.
In its "AI assistant" pilot, the Bank of Korea (BOK) envisioned a scenario in which a YouTuber asked an AI assistant to "create trend content that interests people in their 20s." The AI assistant that received the request directly selected a content topic, chose the necessary photos, videos, and audio, and even completed the paid payment. The transaction proceeded by transferring deposits tokens in the buyer's sales wallet to the seller's wallet.
This pilot is the second phase of the BOK's real-world digital currency transaction test, "Project Hangang." In the first phase conducted last year, the BOK teamed up with commercial banks to convert the deposits of 100,000 people into a digital currency called "deposits token" that could be used at convenience stores, cafes, bookstores, and supermarkets. Participants in that test converted a total of 1.64 billion won in deposits into deposits tokens, and 690 million won (42.1%) was used in actual transaction. According to the BOK, no problems occurred during the wallet opening, conversion into deposits tokens, or the process of purchasing goods and services during the test period. It was also reported that the payment speed was only around 2 seconds.
This year's "AI assistant" pilot was carried out to check whether not only people but AI as well can purchase goods with digital currency. A BOK official said, "We conducted a pilot to verify whether the related technology works properly, and we are not pursuing commercialization at this point."
For such technology to be commercialized, legal revisions are needed. The current Electronic Financial Transactions Act prohibits the transfer of access media such as passwords or authentication methods. There is debate over whether it is legally permissible for AI to make payments on behalf of users.
Meanwhile, the BOK is conducting the real-world digital currency transaction test "Project Hangang" because the use of legal tender such as coins and banknotes is declining, raising the need to supply digital currency as a substitute. Europe and China are actively developing their own Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).