By Abidemi Adebamiwa, Newspot Nigeria Editorial Desk
Artificial intelligence has arrived in Southeast Asia. The question is: will it deepen inequality or create shared prosperity?
A Defining Choice for the Region
Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant horizon for Southeast Asia; it is the present. From the streets of Singapore to the rural communities of Vietnam and the busy call centres of the Philippines, AI is already changing how people work, how industries compete, and how governments think about the future.
But there is a stark choice ahead: adopt AI in ways that mimic conventional market logicโfocusing narrowly on cost-cutting and efficiencyโor embrace what experts call โbig Iโ innovation, rethinking systems from the ground up to create humanโmachine partnerships that elevate job quality, social resilience, and inclusive prosperity.
Singapore: From โCarefulโ to โSpecialโ
Singaporeโs disciplined approach to policy has made it a leader in AI readiness. Yet stakeholders warn the country is โcarefulโ when the moment demands something โspecial.โ
Signs of overeducation mismatches are emerging, with graduates trained in advanced tools that industries havenโt yet widely adopted. The SkillsFuture programme, while ambitious, remains too standardised compared to tailored, work-integrated models in other top innovation economies.
To protect social mobility, Singapore must move towards distributed augmentationโembedding AI into niche, human-reliant sectors such as elder care robotics, tree health diagnostics, and AI-assisted emergency response.
Vietnam: Beyond ICT-Centric Growth
Vietnamโs AI strategy has focused heavily on ICT, yet manufacturingโs locally added value fell by 0.37% in 2023, signalling reliance on imported components.
Stakeholders call for sector-specific AI tools for industries such as textiles, agriculture, and manufacturingโarguing that generic AI solutions overlook operational and creative needs.
Bridging the digital divide is essential if rural areas are to join the AI economy. Without inclusive strategies, automation could create job redundancies and stagnating wages in traditionally secure cognitive roles. The solution lies in AI-augmented jobs across all sectors, ensuring benefits are widely shared.
Philippines: Augmenting Low- and Mid-Skilled Workers
The IMF estimates four in ten jobs in the Philippines will be affected by AI, with more than half augmented rather than replaced.
The BPO sectorโemploying 1.82 million workers and generating $38 billion annuallyโis especially vulnerable to automation. Yet, human emotional intelligence in customer relations remains a critical asset AI cannot replace.
The Philippines must adopt a national augmented-intelligence strategy that includes:
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Partnering with training institutes and private firms to design modular, stackable AI courses tailored to industry needs.
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Integrating AI literacy into all education levels.
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Creating a national AI jobs and training portal.
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Expanding skilling-to-employment programmes like JobStart and the Special Training for Employment Program.
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Funding digital inclusion and โAI-for-social-goodโ projects, such as โAI-landsโ to support island-based initiatives.
The Regional Collaboration
This shift is backed by a diverse coalition:
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Philippines: Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Labor and Employment, National Economic and Development Authority, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines.
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Global: Blavatnik School of Government (University of Oxford), Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), OECD, World Bank, and TBI.
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Policy Advisors: Policy & Politics (Alexander Iosad, Angelo Leone).
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TBI Country Teams: Philippines (Joy Caneba, Leonardo Camacho, Carlo Enrico Santiago, Reini Azriel Evangelista); Vietnam (Richard McClellan, Nguyen Khoi, Ha Bao Tram, Bแบกch Ngoc, Nguyen Ly).
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Research & Data Unit: Brianna Miller, Emily Jolliffe, Harriet Coombs.
The Choice Ahead
Six ASEAN economies already have national AI strategies. Singapore seeks frontier leadership, Vietnam aims to leapfrog development stages, and the Philippines is taking a gradual, inclusive approach.
The real question is whether AI will be a tool for inclusive productivity, resilient jobs, and equitable outcomes, or a driver of inequality. The path of Augmented Intelligenceโplacing people at the heart of technologyโmay be harder, but itโs the one worth taking.
This commentary was prepared for Newspot Nigeria, where global developments meet local perspectives.
