On June 11, 2025, we launched a new internal talk session series called “Leaders Talk! AI/LLM Behind the Scenes Open Door.” For our very first radio-style session, we were joined by our special guest, Masato Yamamoto (@mark), Executive Officer, SVP of Japan Business, Director of Merpay, Inc., and Director of Mercoin, Inc.

As AI fundamentally changes our society and the way we work, where are we headed? And what kind of future does Mercari envision? With @gomichan from the AI/LLM Office as moderator, we jumped right into a passionate but casual conversation.

We’ve recreated the session here to make you feel like you were right there with us, listening in on the conversation.

*This article was written and structured using AI tools based on audio from the event. This English version was translated from Japanese using a custom generative AI model interface trained using Mercari style guides, glossaries, and past Mercan articles.

The reality of AI utilization and a new partner for diving deeper into hobbies

@gomichan: In this series, we’ll be inviting leaders from various divisions promoting AI/LLM to talk casually about where they are now with AI utilization and the challenges they’re taking on. We hope that by sharing the thoughts and enthusiasm of our leaders, we can spread a sense of excitement throughout the company.

So, let’s welcome our guest, @mark. Thanks again for being here.

@mark: My pleasure.

@gomichan: The last two or three weeks have been a real whirlwind, haven’t they? I got the sense that preparations were moving quickly behind the scenes. What do you think of this pace?

@mark: That’s right. You joined and we started these AI promotion initiatives about 10 months ago, in July 2024, right? Since the start of this year, it suddenly became a clear, company-wide priority, and I feel like things have really taken off at rocket speed.

@gomichan: Do you use generative AI in your daily life?

@mark: I use ChatGPT the most. I originally did research on search engines, but lately I find myself using Perplexity or ChatGPT more often than Google Search when I’m looking things up.

@gomichan: Outside of work, I know you’re passionate about audio equipment, @mark. Do you use generative AI for that as well?

@mark: Yes, I have a dedicated project in ChatGPT called “Earphone-Related.” I input all my preferences and the products I’m not interested in, and then have it look up very niche information. There’s limited information available in Japan, so I ask it to gather information from China, the US, Malaysia, and other places, breaking through language barriers.

@gomichan: It’s great for searching across global sources of information, isn’t it?

@mark: It’s fantastic. In China, especially, a lot of information doesn’t show up in a regular search. But when I ask ChatGPT, it can even pull up things developers have said on social media. The way it digs up information is completely different from a simple search. That’s what I feel is fundamentally different from search engines of the past.

A technological breakthrough 20 years in the making and a disruptive leap forward

@gomichan: I heard that you studied a field close to AI in your undergraduate and graduate studies.

@mark: I was doing research in natural language processing around 2002. It was different from what we call LLMs today; it was a field closer to statistics.

@gomichan: With that background, were you surprised by the arrival of generative AI, and specifically ChatGPT?

@mark: I was pretty surprised. It reminds me of things like the “Traveling Salesman Problem.” That’s the problem of calculating the shortest possible route for a salesman to visit a set of cities. Twenty years ago, if the number of destinations exceeded a certain point, it was said that the calculation would take hundreds of millions of years. It was a classic example of a problem that computers couldn’t solve. But then, about two years ago, it became solvable with AI.

There’s also “collaborative filtering,” which is used for recommendations—like Amazon’s “Customers who bought this item also bought” feature. With that, as the number of items increased, the number of people buying similar things became extremely small, which created a problem where only popular items could be recommended. But now, we can make better suggestions. It was a huge shock to see problems that were once considered impossible to solve suddenly become solvable.

@gomichan: Seeing these changes, it seems like the value that services can provide is also set to change dramatically.

@mark: It will change completely. Even if you go to events like Google Cloud Next or Stripe’s conference, what each company is releasing has completely changed. Existing products are becoming entirely different things because of AI. This is exciting, but at the same time, it’s a source of crisis for us as a company.

How will AI change the way we work?

@gomichan: How do you think our workstyles will change in the future? There was a comment on Slack that work is shifting from focusing on how tasks are done to what we do and why we do it.

@mark: The very existence of work might change. As AI becomes more advanced, it may no longer be necessary for people to work. Basic income could be introduced, and it’s even possible that only people who work because they find it fun and enjoyable will continue to do so.

@gomichan: As we stand at such a turning point, what should we be doing right now?

@mark: I think we just need to use it to its absolute fullest. It was the same when the internet and smartphones appeared. The people who led the change weren’t the ones who felt like “we have to do this,” but the ones who were having fun, thinking, “Wow, look what I can do!” I believe that by enjoying it and using it to the max, we’ll discover something new.

Right now, there are distinct areas for different job roles, but even those boundaries might disappear, and the majority of tasks will likely be replaced by AI. If that happens, a single Product Manager (PM) might be able to cover the entire process on their own, from development and quality assurance (QA) to checking for legal risks.

@gomichan: An individual’s will is going to be more important.

@mark: That’s right. In Ray Kurzweil’s book, he talks about “deskilling” and “upskilling.” With AI, the value of things that only a few experts could do decreases (deskilling). On the other hand, the barrier to trying things that were previously impossible is dramatically lowered (upskilling).

It’s also said that beyond that, we’ll enter an era of “non-skilling,” where we find value in things other than manual skills. As a result, the skill gap will shrink, and as long as you have the drive, you can go as far as you want. If you don’t, your own area will just be encroached upon. Motivation becomes key.

@gomichan: Some people are uneasy about their jobs being “taken away,” but it’s actually a chance to take on new challenges.

@mark: Exactly. While AI might encroach on our own areas of expertise, we can also go into any other area. In a way, it’s a situation where anyone can become Superman.

Changes in business models and competition in the age of AI

@gomichan: What kind of changes will AI bring to business?

@mark: I’ve been thinking about what will happen when it becomes commonplace for AI to recommend the best items on behalf of users and even handle the purchase. My immediate concern is that direct interaction between users and service providers like us will decrease, and our relationships with users, like those built through loyalty programs, might become diluted.

For example, an AI could make purchases using AI-generated accounts and credit card information, which are then linked to the user’s information on the back end. If that happens, service providers will have no idea who is making the purchase, unlike now. Also, with the point programs offered by various companies, a specific AI could consolidate orders, act as a super-loyal user, and then distribute the benefits to its users.

In other words, unless we design our services based on these hypotheses, we risk being unable to clearly distinguish between a traditional account tied to a single user and a single account that represents multiple users.

When it comes to listing items, AI might make it possible to list not only on Mercari but on all sorts of platforms simultaneously, with no effort at all. If that happens, the strengths of brand image and touchpoints might no longer be effective, and services could be chosen based solely on having the lowest service fees.

The rules of competition are going to change fundamentally. I think we’re heading into a challenging era.

Get fired up and have fun!

@gomichan: Lastly, could you share some words of encouragement for the members who are taking on this huge challenge with you?

@mark: I’ve said it many times, but: “Get fired up and have fun.” To be honest, at first I considered setting an objective that would raise a sense of obligation or crisis, something like, “With the rise of AI, human value is going to disappear if we don’t do something, so let’s get serious.” But at our company, more people enjoy change than resist it. I don’t think people who approach new things with a sense of duty or crisis can ever beat those who are fired up and having fun in this new world.

That’s why, as a company, I want to give our full support to those who are enjoying this and are fired up, and I want to create new things with them. We might become a company that offers something completely different from our current services, but I want to enjoy that process, too. This is a huge wave, and you’ve just gotta ride it! It would be amazing if everyone could say, “I created something new,” at a time when society and people’s lives are changing so dramatically.

@gomichan: I completely agree. Since we have this opportunity, I want us all to get fired up together and create a future where, in a few years, we can look back and say, “We did this.”

@mark: If we can have fun with it, we can swing for the fences even harder. You get better outcomes when you swing with all your might instead of using it timidly. I want to help create an environment where everyone can get into that state of mind.