Focus on Al's potential to help in workplace: Experts

Workers should not fear job displacement but embrace how AI will change jobs

- Gabrielle Chan

Those in the workforce should not worry about losing their jobs, but embrace how artificial intelligence (AI) will change the nature of jobs, said industry experts.

AI will even introduce new jobs, they said.

It will augment the skills we hold, and we should focus on its potential to help us, said Mr Ben King, Google's country managing director for Singapore, responding to a question about the impact of AI on jobs and the workplace.

He added: "AI won't necessarily replace us, because we're not competing. You can imagine, humans are bringing creativity, they're bringing empathy, they're bringing critical thinking to work, and AI can really supplement their systems." Mr Tan Kok Yam, chief executive of SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG), referred to his employees as "choice architects", and cited the example of how they came up with personalised course options for individuals based on data collected.

"The nature of work has changed. It will change, I think, for the majority of the work," Mr Tan added.