Like some experts observed, technological progress has outpaced humanity’s ability to understand it and our capacity to address the problems it creates. The artificial intelligence (AI)-powered cyberattacks on Korea’s financial institutions are a vivid illustration of how ill-prepared the nation is for the AI age. The race to exploit system flaws and vulnerabilities is in full swing among cybercriminals, and without effective countermeasures, further damage will be inevitable — and could be far greater than that caused by cyberattacks in the pre-AI era. The series of cyber incidents involving seven Korean financial institutions last week sends a warning signal: In the AI age, similar intrusions can occur at any time and across all sectors, potentially causing significant harm on an unprecedented scale. There has been heated debate over how Korea can become a global leader in AI. But little attention is paid to the warning that unrestrained technology can endanger humans, rather than simply making life more affordable and convenient. Korea is now paying the price for ignoring the de