- The stories of Lim Yi Ping (Singapore) and Mylene Cabalona (Philippines) clearly illustrate two sides of the AI wave: those who learn new skills can advance quickly, while traditional workers face the risk of replacement.
- An IDC–UiPath report (8/2025) shows that 86% of Southeast Asian businesses will adopt AI “agents” within 12 months, double the rate of 2024. However, AI capability in the region is extremely imbalanced:
- Singapore has 3.5 AI professionals per 1,000 workers;
- Malaysia: 0.5;
- Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam: only 0.2.
- Kearney (2020) estimated that AI could contribute $1 trillion to the region’s GDP by 2030, but currently Singapore attracts $8.4 billion in AI investment capital—accounting for 75% of the entire ASEAN bloc, while Indonesia only nears $2 billion, and Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand are at very low levels.
- The most vulnerable sector is services and BPO (Business Process Outsourcing): 164 million workers (57% of the regional workforce) could be affected, especially in the Philippines, where the BPO industry, valued at $35 billion (8% of GDP), is starting to cut personnel.
- In Singapore, the impact is “absorbed” better thanks to a flexible retraining system. DBS Bank expects to cut 4,000 contract jobs but create 1,000 AI-related positions over three years.
- The disparity is also clear in AI infrastructure investment:
- Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia received over $30 billion in the first half of 2024 for data centers;
- Less developed nations face difficulties due to weak digital infrastructure and a lack of digital skills.
- Nevertheless, AI also opens up opportunities in agriculture: Thai farmers like Jamras Inpuek use AI to forecast rainfall, increasing productivity by up to 20%, demonstrating the potential for improving livelihoods if technology is accessed correctly.
- To bridge the gap, ASEAN has enacted:
- The Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA, 2023) – promoting digital trade, potentially doubling the value of the digital economy to $2 trillion by 2030;
- The Responsible AI Roadmap (2025–2030) – guiding the responsible use of AI.
- Singapore leads with Sea-Lion – a $70 million Large Language Model (LLM), supporting 13 Southeast Asian languages, helping to localize technology and reduce dependence on US-Chinese models.
📌 AI is fostering inequality within ASEAN: skill, data, and infrastructure-rich countries like Singapore are advancing faster, while the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia face the risk of job displacement and lagging behind. However, if regional initiatives like the Digital Economy Framework Agreement and the Responsible AI Roadmap 2025-2030 are effectively implemented, ASEAN still has the chance to turn the divide into cooperation – transforming the “AI Gap” into an “AI Bridge” to enter a more equitable digital economy era together.
