Adoption of AI booming in SE Asia, says IDC
British scientists use artificial intelligence to predict outcome of legal trials
British scientists use artificial intelligence to predict outcome of legal trials

Adoption of AI booming in SE Asia, says IDC

NEWSBYTE Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption has increased significantly in Southeast Asia over the past year, according to IDC.

A new report from the analyst company, the Asia/Pacific Enterprise Cognitive/AI Survey, finds that organisations’ average AI adoption rate now stands at 14 percent across the region, compared to just eight percent last year.

Southeast Asian companies are firming up their AI strategies, according to the research, with 37 percent putting adoption plans in place over the next five years. Top use cases in the region include algorithmic market forecasting (17 percent), and automated asset and infrastructure management (11 percent).

Improved business insight has become the most important driver behind use of the technology, according to more than half (52 percent) of respondents. Other key drivers include enhanced process automation (51 percent) and improved productivity (42 percent).

Indonesia is in the vanguard of ASEAN (Association of SouthEast Nations) AI strategy, says IDC, with 24.6 percent of organisations adopting the technology, followed by Thailand (17.1 percent), Singapore (9.9 percent), and Malaysia (8.1 percent).

However, while Indonesia has the highest adoption rates, it also has the highest percentage of organisations with no plans to deploy AI over the next five years (59 percent).

Overall, lack of skills and knowledge (23 percent) and the high cost of solutions (23 percent) are among the biggest barriers to adoption in the region.

Falling behind North Asia

“With its positive impact already visible across banking, manufacturing, healthcare, and government, there are clear opportunities for more organisations in Southeast Asia to leverage AI to create differentiating value,” said Chwee Kan Chua, global research director at IDC Asia Pacific.

“We expect investments in AI to continue to rise, as more organisations begin to understand the benefits of embedding AI into their business and how data and analytics can help uncover new insights.”

However, the study found that organisations in Southeast Asia are well behind those in North Asian countries, in terms of putting AI on the strategic agenda.

For example, more than 80 percent of companies in China and South Korea believe that AI capabilities will be critical for organisations’ future success and competitiveness, compared to less than 40 percent of enterprises in Singapore and Malaysia.

Internet of Business says

The IDC survey comes in the wake of a report last week which suggested that increased automation in Southeast Asia increases the risk of labour abuses and even slavery among low-paid human workers in the region. For more on this, please see our separate report.