Singapore workers rank among least optimistic in Asia about AI's career impact, survey finds

Singapore's workforce has embraced artificial intelligence at work faster than almost any other market in Asia, but that enthusiasm hasn't translated into confidence about what the technology means for their careers. A new survey from recruitment agency Robert Walters reveals a striking disconnect: while 89 per cent of professionals here actively use AI on the job, only 67 per cent believe it will positively affect their careers — placing Singapore and Hong Kong at the bottom of a 10-market regional optimism ranking.

The findings, drawn from nearly 5,000 professionals and companies across Asia, show Singapore trailing far behind mainland China (88 per cent optimism), Vietnam (83 per cent), Japan (80 per cent) and Taiwan (79 per cent). The gap between usage and optimism suggests that adoption alone does not build career confidence — and the survey's top concerns for Singapore workers bear this out: job displacement due to automation, potential bias from AI-driven decisions, and the creeping anxiety that current skills may become obsolete before workers can adapt.

Region-wide, 93 per cent of professionals now actively use AI, and 58 per cent of employers have already introduced it into the workplace. The functions most affected are predictable — administration and business support, IT and digital transformation, and accounting and finance lead the list of roles being reshaped by automation. On the professional side, content creation, data analysis, research, and workflow optimisation top the list of common AI use cases.

Kirsty Poltock, country manager of Robert Walters Singapore, framed the dynamic in practical terms: "AI is reshaping how work is done, shifting routine tasks to automation while elevating human responsibility for judgment and decision-making." The survey found that while high-usage markets like Vietnam and the Philippines report stronger optimism, that confidence doesn't always extend to keeping skills current — suggesting that optimism and preparedness are not the same thing. Employers, for their part, are beginning to place greater emphasis on human capabilities that AI cannot easily replicate, particularly judgment, oversight, and adaptability.

Why it matters for Singapore: The survey puts a fine point on what is becoming the central labour-market question of the decade — how to maintain career confidence in a environment where the tools themselves are moving faster than the skills pipeline. Singapore's workforce is already among the most AI-literate in the region by usage metrics, but the gap between adoption and optimism signals that employers and policymakers need to invest not just in AI tools, but in the narrative around what those tools mean for individual career trajectories. With the government's broader push under the National AI Strategy to deepen AI capabilities across the economy, closing that confidence gap will be as important as closing the skills one.