Gen Z drives GenAI adoption in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, outpacing global average

SINGAPORE: Generation Z led the rapid adoption of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, contributing to a 44% adoption rate in the region—higher than the global average of 39%. The report highlighted a higher tendency among those aged 18 to 24 to adopt GenAI regularly, a trend most evident in Thailand (68%), the Philippines (64%), and Singapore (64%).

Released as part of SEEK’s Decoding Global Talent: GenAI Edition 2024 (SEA Edition), the report highlighted changing work preferences in the region.

Despite strong adoption, job security concerns remained high, particularly in Indonesia (40%) and the Philippines (35%), where many feared AI could replace jobs or change roles.

Meanwhile, the report noted that mature markets like Singapore saw AI as a tool rather than a threat, especially in marketing and media.

Overall, 52% of professionals expected AI to change some tasks, requiring reskilling, while 23% anticipated major job transformations that would need significant reskilling. Only 6% feared their jobs would become obsolete, while 20% were confident AI would not affect their work.

In terms of readiness to reskill, the Philippines led at 74%, followed by Indonesia (72%) and Thailand (69%). Meanwhile, Singapore (53%) and Hong Kong (50%) took a more measured approach.

More than half (53%) said they wanted clearer guidance on the skills they needed, exceeding the global average of 48%. Another 45% wanted better access to learning programmes, while 35% sought more time and funding for training.

Despite the region’s enthusiasm for AI, several challenges slowed progress. The biggest hurdle was the lack of available data or unreliable sources, cited by 35% of respondents—higher than the global average of 32%.

In Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, 33% pointed to struggles in writing effective prompts, while 31% cited slow internet speeds and technical issues, particularly in less developed areas. /TISG

Read also: Beijing primary and secondary schools to introduce AI courses in September to develop students’ AI thinking, skills, and innovation

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