Lifelong learning is the answer to AI taking away manual jobs, say Malaysians

In a Bloomberg survey, 76% of 100 Malaysia-based professionals agree (or strongly agree) that lifelong learning will be able to mitigate the threat that artificial intelligence (AI) poses to manual jobs.

This optimism around AI is significantly higher than the global average of 64%.

With Malaysia pegged as an 'emerging country' for this survey, 72% in other such emerging countries (which includes respondents from China, India, and Vietnam) agree (or strongly agree) that lifelong learning, often delivered via mobile technology, will be a successful method of countering AI challenges.

The New Economy global survey also took the views of Malaysia-based respondents on other aspects, such as cybersecurity, urbanisation and climate change.

More Malaysian (61%) than global respondents (54%) agreed that by 2035, China and India will have surpassed the US as the world’s centres of tech innovation. In fact, Chinese respondents were more conservative (40%) about the prospect of China and India surpassing the US.

What most respondents did agree on, though, was that if there is another world war, then it is likely to be a cyber war - 70% of Malaysia and Singapore respondents, 87% of Vietnam respondents, and 65% of Indonesia respondents agree on this.

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Close to two in three (65%) ASEAN respondents agree that the liberation of women in emerging countries will bring about an economic renaissance. This is significantly higher than the global average of 57%. Malaysia was close to the global average at 58%.

Finally, Malaysia (64%) tracks developed economies’ sentiment (58%) that by 2035, we will be reaching the point of no return on climate change. More than half (52%) of global business professionals also agree that rising sea levels will have already wiped the first low-lying country off the map by 2035.

Tom Orlik, Bloomberg's Chief Economist said: "What’s palpable on the streets of Beijing and New Delhi is also evident in the results of the survey – professionals in the new economies are clear sighted on the shift in the centre of global economic gravity.

"As they move to seize the opportunities represented by new markets and new technologies, the flow of talent and capital will accelerate the new economies' rise."