None of ASEAN's 11 member states, including Singapore, has yet figured out how to manage the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on jobs, Singapore's Acting Minister for Manpower Jasmin Lau has said, calling for stronger regional cooperation to prepare workers and businesses for the transition.
Lau made the remarks during a panel discussion at the 41st ASEAN Roundtable hosted by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute on Thursday (5 November), under the theme 'Built to last? ASEAN's growth ambitions in an age of disruption'.
She warned that the jobs at risk from AI are not defined by salary levels alone, but are also closely tied to people's identities, family responsibilities and future plans.
“We cannot stop the technology’s progress, but we also cannot leave its outcomes to chance,” she said.
Singapore warns of a widening AI adoption gap
Lau, who also serves as Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information, said Singapore's approach would focus on ensuring that AI adoption delivers tangible benefits for both businesses and workers.
She said businesses should use AI to address real-world challenges and improve productivity rather than limiting its application to summarising reports or functioning as a search engine.
“(Singapore’s) approach is not only to make the AI available and tell people to try it, but to translate the AI into impact across the economy.”
Singapore updated its National AI Strategy earlier this year, identifying connectivity, advanced manufacturing, healthcare and finance as four priority sectors for AI adoption.
However, Lau cautioned that uneven adoption across businesses could create a "two-speed" society, with larger companies better equipped to deploy AI while smaller enterprises struggle to keep pace.
The gap could have wider implications for social cohesion, given that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) employ the majority of Singapore's workforce.
AI investments remain concentrated in a few ASEAN economies
The discussion also highlighted disparities in how ASEAN economies are attracting investments across the AI value chain.
Nick Marro, principal economist for Asia at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam had captured the majority of foreign direct investment flowing into the region's AI value chain.
Meanwhile, countries such as the Philippines and Cambodia have struggled to attract similar levels of investment. Marro pointed to policy predictability, talent availability and infrastructure as key factors behind the divide.
He said greater coordination among governments could help more countries build the capacity to attract investments and participate in the region's AI growth.
“There’s a ton of room for capacity building, a ton of room for cooperation and coordination across governments.”
Singapore to push regional AI cooperation in 2027
Singapore, which will assume ASEAN's chairmanship in 2027, plans to make technological transformation translate into greater economic security for workers across South-east Asia, Lau said.
“What I hope we can say a few years from now is that a worker in Manila, Hanoi or Singapore feels more secure about his or her future because of AI, not the other way around.”
She acknowledged that ASEAN member states would not necessarily adopt AI at the same pace, given differences in their economic development. However, the bloc could support wider adoption by sharing use cases, strengthening capabilities and improving access to AI tools and safeguards.
“If we can do this well, then AI becomes a tool that can improve our productivity across the region,” she added.
Singapore also plans to strengthen regional capabilities in AI governance, testing and assurance, including the development of common testing tools for agentic AI.
“A lot of this is still work in progress,” said Lau.
She stressed that regional cooperation would be important in developing governance frameworks for AI agents, particularly as these technologies increasingly operate across different systems, industries and organisations.