Artificial intelligence is poised to transform industries and jobs, disrupting old ways of doing things and creating new opportunities.
In the Asia-Pacific region, which is rapidly adopting the technology, that brings challenges for the region’s 2 billion, and growing, workers. AI is expected to contribute up to $3 trillion to GDP by 2030, driven by productivity gains in the retail, marketing, finance, manufacturing and automotive sectors, some of which are dominated by APAC countries.
Women, informal workers and migrants are also overrepresented in the roles most likely to be made redundant by AI, including clerical jobs, customer support, administrative roles, delivery staff, construction workers, warehouse workers among others.
“Building capabilities in generative AI, machine learning, and natural language processing can help workers remain relevant in this evolving landscape,” according to a new report by AVPN, a social impact network in Asia.
The organization calls for an “AI just transition” to pave the way.
To help, AVPN, alongside Google.org and the Asian Development Bank, launched the AI Opportunity Fund: Asia-Pacific, last year to equip the region’s workforce with AI tools and know-how. The $15 million three-year program funds non-profits, social enterprises and workforce associations that are in touch with populations that are most likely to be impacted by the AI transition, including persons living with disabilities.
The fund has committed cash grants to 49 organizations including Singapore’s TagTeam, which equips migrants and domestic workers with AI-related skills to help them land jobs when they go back home, Japan’s Baobab, which provides AI and data annotation training for refugees and people with disabilities, and India’s JAIS, an organization that helps female and rural business owners digitize their operations.
Google.org offered another $10 million to launch an additional track in partnership with the ASEAN Foundation to solely focus on micro, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs.
AI upskilling
In a survey of 3,000 Asians, half of whom were women, AVPN identified a mismatch between the demand for AI-integration and the supply of AI-related skills. Just 15% of the respondents were taking courses to become more familiar with AI and its uses. 40% of them prefer technical training and real-world experience over AI.
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, which account for nearly 96% of businesses in the region, are slow to adopt AI due to financial constraints and limited access to training opportunities and digital infrastructure. In addition to AVPN, other organizations have mobilized to help facilitate a just AI transition.
Social media giant META and Indian tech advocacy non-profit National Association of Software and Services Companies launched the AI Enablement for SMEs and SMBs program last year to help small Indian businesses adopt the technology.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises has trained nearly 300 innovators who in turn mentor small businesses in AI upskilling. The program focuses on integrating AI into key supply chain touch points, like managing supplier networks and distribution channels, production, financing among others.
