The development of artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to affect nearly 80 million workers in Southeast Asia, but so far there is no solid evidence that the technology is causing large-scale job losses.
This was revealed by the International Labor Organization (ILO) in its latest report.
According to the ILO, around 22.9% of the total number of jobs in ASEAN countries are in categories that allow some of their tasks to be assisted or replaced by AI.
Of this number, about 11.7 million workers are in jobs with the highest level of AI exposure.
Among the jobs that have the potential to be greatly affected by AI include financial analysts, multimedia content developers and financial brokers.
Although generative AI has been growing in recent years, the number of jobs in sectors exposed to AI is still increasing, indicating that this technology has not caused major disruption to the job market.
The ILO explained that AI plays a more important role in helping to increase worker productivity than completely replacing humans.
However, changes in the way people work are expected to occur as companies start to adopt the technology more widely.
Singapore has the highest percentage of workers in the sector exposed to AI at 42.2%, due to its advanced digital infrastructure and high level of technological readiness.
Other ASEAN countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand are also facing changes due to the development of AI.
The ILO is urging governments to strengthen policies related to AI and help workers adapt to technological changes.
The future of work will depend not only on how far AI develops, but also on how people, companies and governments prepare for it.
