Gen Zers in Singapore Worried About AI's Impact on Their Jobs

They consider themselves more adept at using AI but are anxious about job security

- Megan Wee

Che Zi Fan, 17, has been passionate about art for as long as she can remember. The junior college student started attending private art classes at the age of five, joined the Enhanced Art Programme in secondary school and has been keeping an Instagram page to share her artwork.

She once dreamed of flexing her drawing skills in a fashion design or animation career, but is now having second thoughts amid the rapid rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI).

On a recent overseas trip, she saw how AI-generated designs were used in beverage packaging and promotional posters.

She was also disheartened to see positive comments about AI-generated art on social media, with few users asking about the original reference materials.

Artists now have a higher risk of being replaced by AI, she said, adding that her job search will likely be even tougher when it is her turn to join the workforce.

According to a survey of more than 2,500 Singapore residents by recruitment agency Randstad in June, almost half (49 per cent) of Gen Z respondents agree that AI will have considerable impact on their jobs in the next five years, although just a small proportion (4 per cent) of them said they expect to lose their jobs to AI.

While Gen Zers report more frequent usage of AI in their work than Gen X and millennial respondents, this cohort is still the "most likely to feel impacted by the AI revolution", the report said.

Young workers in the US and Britain also appeared to be apprehensive about AI's impact on their jobs.

In a 2024 survey by technology education provider General Assembly, 62 per cent of Gen Z respondents in these countries said they believed AI could replace their jobs within the next decade, whereas only 6 per cent of their senior counterparts – directors and vice-president-level executives – feel threatened by AI.