Majority of Singaporean businesses felt AI perks: study

Firms, however, believe policies should be in place for responsible implementation 

About eight in ten Singaporean business leaders have already felt the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) in their business operations, while the majority are calling for proper regulations, according to a study by analytics cloud platform Alteryx.

Seeing the positive effects of the tech, six in 10 or about 58% of the respondents said they are likely to increase their investment in AI. The other 41% also revealed their intent to invest in advanced tech amid the evolving environment. 

“Our research findings closely align with Singapore’s efforts to leverage the transformative power of AI,” said Philip Madgwick, senior director of Asia at Alteryx. “Accessible, secure, self-service analytics and automation technologies are central to this journey – not only as tools but catalysts for businesses to harness AI, drive innovation and maintain a competitive edge.” 

Despite this, the report showed only 47% believe AI to be universally adopted across all sectors and businesses.

Majority of the respondents also identified ethical considerations surrounding data privacy as a chief concern, with transparency and data governance ranking high among the challenges presented. 

About 85% of Singaporean leaders recommend that standards and regulations should be implemented on the use of AI as well as generative AI. Nine in ten believe introducing policies would allow for responsible adoption of AI in businesses as 41% expressed concerns for firms that do not adopt an ethical AI framework.

“As organisations across Singapore continue to lay the foundations for successfully harnessing AI to deliver business value, leaders are already addressing emerging workforce and regulatory concerns to stay ahead of the global AI race,” Madgwick said.

In keeping the workforce competitive, proficiency in AI and meta language appear as the most valued skillset in the survey, followed by programming and coding, as well as engineering. Soft skills such as adaptability, communication and digital literacy also rank highly among the valued skills of respondents.