AI is the most transformational technology of our time—it has the potential to add meaningful value into almost every facet of our lives and is also capable of tackling some of humanity’s most challenging problems. Turning this potential into reality will mean carefully navigating the evolution of AI so that communities, businesses of all sizes, and governments must work through together to drive innovation.
As part of an Asia Pacific wide survey, conducted by Amazon, with 15,000 employees and 5,000 employers, 94% of Singaporean employers envision their companies becoming AI-driven organizations by 2028.
While most surveyed employers (91%) believe their IT department will be the biggest beneficiary, they also foresee business operations (90%), research and development (89%), finance (89%), sales and marketing (86%), legal (83%), and human resources (81%) departments driving significant value from AI too.
New and rapidly evolving technologies can often seem especially overwhelming to small and medium businesses which often don’t have the time or dedicated resources to dedicate to experimentation. This can obstruct innovation and curtail opportunities by slowing adoption rates and preventing companies from learning how to use AI.
As AI will evolves over coming years, and as it continues to develop, governments and policymakers around the world will need to find the balance between harnessing the economic benefits of AI, while ensuring the right policies are in place to mitigate potential risks.
Responsible use of AI technologies is, and will continue to be, the key to fostering innovation. Amazon is committed to developing fair and accurate AI services and we believe governments also play a critical role in driving responsible AI to give businesses in the Asia Pacific region the best possible foundation on which to grow.
Community-driven approaches to AI development
In today’s increasingly inter-connected world, a key factor that the quest for responsible AI must keep in mind is the ongoing need to keep local communities involved in the process of developing AI. Across the Asia Pacific region, many of the tools used to build and manage AI, like the Large Language Models (LLM) that are the building blocks of Generative AI, need to be developed with diverse input from representatives across the region.
Including local, diverse perspectives in AI development is incredibly important in allowing more people to shape this emerging technology to be more relevant to them and ensuring that they have the opportunity to affect AI-driven trends that will grow to eventually affect their lives and livelihoods.
Key to this is investing in, and democratizing access to skills training for AI. As it stands, there is a clear and growing demand for AI skills training across the region.
In Singapore, research commissioned by AWS found that 87% of workers indicated an interest in developing AI skills to accelerate their careers, and this interest transcends generations. While around 91% of Gen Z, 89% of Millennials, and 83% of Gen X workers want to acquire AI skills, 76% of baby boomers—a demographic usually contemplating retirement—say they would enrol in an AI upskilling course if it was offered.
Our research also found that the productivity payoff from an AI-skilled workforce could be immense for Singapore. Surveyed employers expect productivity to increase by 44% as AI technology automates repetitive tasks (68%), improves workflow and outcomes (65%), and enhances communication (62%). Workers believe AI could raise their efficiency by as much as 43%.
Alongside productivity, engagement with AI upskilling additionally allows more people to participate in conversations on AI and lend their diverse perspectives to global policymaking processes that will affect systems, norms, and mechanisms that will play a growing role in their daily lives.
Getting workers involved and invested in AI to drive a responsible future
Employers play a critical role in promoting the adoption of skills and competencies by employees, which will help prepare them for an AI-driven workplace while ensuring that they remain aware of developments in the space. This is doubly useful for SMBs, which can benefit immensely from the gains in productivity that AI can bring, while being involved in AI’s evolution from an early stage.
Holistic and structured learning paths can be configured for employees, which transition from introducing foundational AI skills to teaching more advanced concepts and capabilities. Applying taught concepts to real-world contexts can quickly establish the utility of AI in diverse situations and prepare employees to deploy AI effectively.
As organizations, governments and communities come together to create frameworks and standards for responsible AI, we can realize AI’s potential to transform and create better societies for all.
