Fri, 15 May 2026

Fewer than two-thirds of organisations in SEA believe their employees have the capabilities to use AI responsibly

https://pixabay.com/illustrations/office-meeting-business-7853103/

A Deloitte study found that even though most  (over 70%) of young employees and students in Southeast Asia (SEA) have already adopted generative AI, fewer than two-thirds believe that their organisation’s employees have the required skills and capabilities to use AI solutions responsibly.

Chris Lewin
Chris Lewin

“At its core, good AI governance is required at all stages of the AI solution lifecycle and should be embedded across technology, processes, and talent. Based on our findings, however, the people and skills pillar is an area where organisations consistently score the lowest on average,” Chris Lewin, AI & Data Capability Leader, Deloitte Asia Pacific, and Southeast Asia, said.

Bridging the gap

To bridge the gap between AI adoption and responsible AI use, Lewin said underscoring the value of training, saying they “have observed that more than three-quarters of SEA respondents are investing in employee upskilling. The only exception is Singapore, where the skills gap is the widest, and nearly seven in 10 organisations have needed to close the gap through hiring, possibly due to the market’s demand for highly specialised and technical roles.”

Building trustworthy AI

To develop trustworthy AI, the report titled “AI at a crossroads: Building trust as the path to scale” recommends organisations prioritise AI governance to realise returns from AI, understand and leverage the broader AI supply chain, build risk managers, not risk avoiders, and communicate and ensure AI transformation readiness across the business.

The report is based on a survey of nearly 900 senior leaders across 13 Asia Pacific geographies, including six SEA geographies: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Related:  AI governance gap, top risk threatening business growth

Related Stories

MORE STORIES

Subscribe