An Asean blueprint for AI progress

Asean will need a digital strategy for today and a vision for the future to harness the full potential of AI for economic growth.

Speaking at a ministerial meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly recently, Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan shared some key takeaways from Singapore’s journey as an early Artificial Intelligence (AI) adopter.

Singapore had moved early on AI, setting out its National AI Strategy in 2019 to deepen AI use in various sectors. As it built out its AI ecosystem, it developed guidelines and governance on responsible AI to safeguard against potential AI risks. In the same year, the government introduced the Model AI Governance Framework to provide the private sector with guidance on ethics and governance as they deploy AI solutions.

To ensure a holistic approach to AI adoption and regulation, the government also captured the perspectives of the public, private, and civil society. Case in point: The Infocomm Media Development Authority's (IMDA) AI Verify Foundation launched this year sees at least 60 global industry players supporting the development and use of AI Verify, an international pilot for AI governance testing framework, and Salesforce is a proud premium partner in this initiative.

Where Singapore is at with AI today

Singapore’s head-start with AI adoption has given businesses an edge in putting AI to use at work. According to the 2023 APAC AI Readiness Index by Salesforce, Singapore holds the top spot for overall AI readiness, including business AI readiness, in reflection of the conducive policy and business environment for AI here.

Businesses in Singapore are eager to tap into AI and generative AI solutions to help their employees work more productively and efficiently while delivering personalised customer experiences at scale. For example, Ocean Network Express (ONE), one of the largest container carrier companies globally, is using AI to make service faster and easier for customers. Salesforce’s AI-powered chatbots help them respond to routine customer questions, allowing their customer service agents to handle more complex inquiries. ONE is also planning to use AI-powered Einstein Recommendations to help their agents provide the right answers quickly.

Businesses that have harnessed AI solutions see talent attraction and retention benefits. In a recent Generative AI in Singapore research from Salesforce, 67% of Singapore workers agree that companies that are seen as proactive and advanced on the generative AI front are more attractive places to work. As many as 32% of Singapore workers are prepared to move organisations, if training on using generative AI at work is not provided.

The same survey also reflected Singapore workers’ enthusiasm for generative AI, with many citing its potential for productivity gains and career advancement opportunities. 93% of those already using and experimenting with generative AI believe that it will bring productivity gains, while around half of those surveyed believe that mastering or becoming proficient in generative AI is key to career advancements, such as potential increments (51%) or promotions (49%).

How can the rest of ASEAN gear up to ride the AI wave?

What we’re seeing in Singapore today can be replicated in the rest of ASEAN, with the necessary building blocks for AI in place.

Our study found that ASEAN countries have made steady progress in preparation for AI adoption – Singapore currently leads the APAC region in overall AI readiness, while Thailand and Indonesia recorded one of the largest improvements in overall AI readiness, after Singapore. This gives ASEAN businesses an opportunity to leapfrog their digital transformation process, and catapult into an AI-first operating model. Take for example how some markets in ASEAN skipped traditional retail banking and moved straight to mobile payments, or how mobile phones leapfrogged desktop computers.

With the new AI policies and strategies being developed, it may only be a matter of time before we start seeing the on-the-ground impact of these AI initiatives on ASEAN businesses and government organisations.

As the region charts its path forward, here are some pointers that businesses in ASEAN can take away from Singapore’s journey:

1. Establishing a strong data foundation
   AI is only as good as the data it is trained on, which makes a company’s AI strategy only as good as its data strategy. Seeing that an enterprise uses an average of 1061 applications, and that over 71% of company applications are disconnected, getting the data in order is a crucial first step for any business embarking on its AI journey.
   
   Building a strong data foundation will be key to unlocking the potential of AI. This starts with unifying data across disparate sources so that AI can deliver the right predictions and recommendations

2. Enable responsible AI and ethics
   Echoing what Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has said, ensuring the safe and ethical deployment of AI is critical even as we gear up AI adoption among enterprises.
   
   Singapore is collaborating with partners to develop the ASEAN Guide on AI Governance and Ethics, which will serve as a “practical and implementable step” towards supporting the safe deployment of “responsible and innovative AI” in the region. Salesforce developed five Trusted AI Principles – responsible, accountable, transparent, empowering and inclusive – to ensure that employees, customers and partners have the tools they need for responsible and ethical AI use. However, businesses should also lean on trusted technology and solutions with built-in safeguards against risks such as hallucinations, toxicity, privacy risks, bias, and more.

3. Develop AI talent to take on in-demand jobs of the future
   Building the workforce’s digital readiness and aptitude for digital tools like AI to match job demand is critical. In fact, the lack of training in using gen AI effectively (38%) is a top barrier preventing Singapore workers from using it more at work.
   
   While the government plays a role in preparing the workforce for jobs in the AI-first economy today, businesses too have the responsibility to train their workforce and provide opportunities for them to put their skills to use. This starts with enabling workers with training on hard and soft skills, as well as policy guidance on using AI ethically and responsibly.  Empowering the workforce with trusted tools that allow them to leverage AI innovation to work smarter and more efficiently will also build confidence and capability.

The Asean region stands at an inflexion point with AI adoption – done right, AI has the potential to contribute $1.36 trillion to the Asean economy by 2030. At this critical juncture, the region will need a digital strategy for today and a vision for the future, to harness the full potential of AI for transformation and economic growth. These lessons from Singapore’s journey in AI development offer a promising start for progress for the region.

Sujith Abraham is the senior vice president and general manager of Salesforce ASEAN

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