The AI Asia Pacific Institute contributed to Reuters NEXT Asia held on the 9th of July in Singapore. Across the sessions, a consistent message emerged: AI is rapidly transforming how organisations operate, but its successful adoption will depend on organisations investing in their people, redesigning jobs thoughtfully and ensuring that AI augments the human relationships that remain central to many industries.
Defining the Future of Work in Asia
As part of Reuters Next, the Institute hosted the interactive workshop, “Defining the Future of Work in Asia,” bringing together approximately 50 participants from key Fortune Global 500 companies.
The workshop featured:
- Dr Wan Rizal, Head of the Employment and Employability Institute and Member of Parliament
- Trisha Suresh, Head of Public Policy, Southeast Asia at LinkedIn
- Aaron Yu, Vice President of Technology at ST Engineering
The discussions explored how organisations are responding to AI-driven changes in jobs, skills and workplace practices, building on the Institute’s 2025 research on AI and Workforce Transformation in ASEAN. Participants reflected on the ways AI is already affecting their daily work, as well as the capabilities that businesses will need to build to remain competitive. Participants were also asked to consider how organisations can introduce AI while maintaining employee trust, engagement and productivity.
A key point of agreement was that AI is unlikely to fully replace human interaction, particularly in industries where relationships, trust and face-to-face engagement are essential. While AI can automate processes, improve access to information and support decision-making, participants emphasised that empathy, judgement and interpersonal communication remain distinctly human strengths.
Organisations that achieve the greatest value from AI are likely to be those that redesign work around complementary human and technological capabilities.
Moving from Experimentation to AI at Scale
Kelly Forbes also moderated the main-stage panel, “AI at Scale: Intelligence for a Competitive Edge,” featuring:
- Huynh Thanh Phong, Group Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of FWD Group
- Tan Bin Ru, President of Digital Enterprise at ST Engineering
The panel examined how large organisations can move beyond isolated AI pilots and embed the technology across their operations. The live-broadcast session reached an audience of approximately six million viewers, reflecting the growing regional interest in how AI can support productivity, innovation and competitiveness.
The discussion highlighted that scaling AI requires more than acquiring new tools. Organisations need clear business objectives, high-quality data, strong governance frameworks and employees who understand how to use AI responsibly. Leadership also plays a critical role in determining whether AI adoption becomes a sustainable organisational capability or remains a collection of disconnected experiments.
For sectors such as financial services, engineering and technology, AI can improve customer engagement, strengthen operational efficiency and enable faster, data-informed decisions. However, deployment at scale also introduces questions surrounding accountability, cybersecurity, workforce readiness and public trust.
Keeping People at the Centre of AI Transformation
Together, the two sessions clearly demonstrated that workforce strategy and AI strategy can no longer be treated separately. As companies increase their investment in AI, they must consider how roles will change, which skills will become more valuable and how employees can participate meaningfully in the transition.
AIAPI was pleased to contribute to these conversations at Reuters NEXT Asia. The Institute will continue working with policymakers, industry leaders and regional partners to support an AI-enabled future of work that is competitive, inclusive and centred on people.
