9 - 2024 - Asia School of Business

After more than 80 years in the making, artificial intelligence (AI) has finally reached a point of inflection with the advent of generative AI. Gen AI can redefine industries, reshape the labour market and challenge the capabilities of both individuals and corporations.

As we navigate this rapidly evolving landscape, the need for strategic adaptation is becoming existential, encompassing reskilling initiatives for society, governmental financial and computation support, and corporate innovation.

A long time coming

The journey of AI began in 1943 with Walter Pitts and Warren McCulloch’s conceptualisation of the artificial neuron. Decades of fluctuating progress followed, marked by periods of optimism but eventually of stagnation, commonly referred to as AI winters.

Significant breakthroughs in the early 2000s, particularly with the use of graphics processing units (GPUs) to accelerate neural networks and set the stage for the current wave of AI optimism. However, it was the introduction of convolutional neural networks in 2012 that truly ignited the current AI revolution.

Gen AI, particularly large language models (LLMs) like GPT, LLaMA and Claude, are a new frontier in this evolution. These models have demonstrated capabilities far beyond the original objectives behind their development, influencing various domains through their interaction, reasoning, knowledge and generative capacities.

The rapid advancement of Gen AI presents contradictory challenges: its potential benefits are immense, but so are the risks and disruptions it can engender.

Unpacking the impact of Gen AI

Gen AI’s influence extends across multiple dimensions, reshaping how businesses operate and how individuals perform their tasks.

Interaction and interfacing: LLMs excel in natural language processing (NLP), enabling unprecedented levels of interaction and interfacing. This capability has transformative implications for customer service, office administration and various service industries.

The automation of these roles not only increases efficiency but also introduces new application possibilities. For instance, customer service bots can now handle complex queries, and robots in restaurants can take orders and payments, enhancing efficiency and cost savings.

Reasoning: One of the surprising developments in Gen AI is its basic reasoning ability. While these systems don’t inherently possess reasoning skills, their large associative memory allows them to effectively simulate reasoning.

This capability is improving as researchers integrate more intentional logic facilities into AI systems. Such advancements promise to enhance decision-making processes across various sectors, from healthcare to finance.

Knowledge: Gen AI bridges the gap between unstructured and structured data, a breakthrough with profound implications. Techniques like fine-tuning and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) enable AI to handle vast amounts of unstructured data, transforming it into actionable insights.

This development rekindles the concept of “knowledge management” in a powerful new way, potentially revolutionising fields that rely heavily on knowledge interpretation and application.

Generation: The generative capabilities of AI are already making waves in creative industries, as evidenced by the Hollywood Writers’ Strike over AI-generated content. Beyond creativity, these capabilities are impacting coding, engineering design and more.

The ability to generate complex content and solutions autonomously positions Gen AI as a disruptive force across multiple domains.

Navigating the labour market shift

The integration of Gen AI into the workforce is reshaping the job market in significant ways. Unlike previous automation waves that predominantly affected blue-collar jobs, Gen AI is set to impact white-collar roles more profoundly.

Furthermore, since jobs that require cognition more than physical action tend to employ more women, women will be more impacted by Gen AI. These changes call for a proactive approach to reskilling and upskilling the workforce.

Labour economists argue that technological innovation can create new jobs through increased productivity, but the rapid pace of Gen AI advancements necessitates swift and comprehensive reskilling initiatives to avoid widespread job disruption, as well as to enable competitiveness.

Corporate adaptation: Challenges and strategies

The AI transformation within corporations will require more than incremental adjustments; it demands a fundamental redesign of business operations and strategies. AI is statistical and probabilistic, employees using AI will need to master risk management in decision-making processes.

Risk and Talent: Large corporations face significant challenges in adopting Gen AI due to the need for a new breed of risk professionals. Recently, an Air Canada chatbot went rogue and offered unauthorised deals to customers. Incidents such as this highlight the difficulties in managing AI-driven processes.

Smaller, more agile companies may navigate these risks more effectively, but they too require robust strategies to mitigate potential pitfalls.

SMEs can seize the opportunity: Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have a unique opportunity to leverage Gen AI for competitive advantage. Unlike large corporations, SMEs can be can more quickly adapt to the quirks and advantages of Gen A.

However, they face barriers such as limited access to advanced AI technologies and the need for specialised skills. Governments play a crucial role in supporting SMEs through financial incentives, training programmes and affordable access to AI resources.

Addressing misuse

While Gen AI offers immense potential, it also poses risks related to cybersecurity and misuse. The sophistication of social engineering attacks, such as deep fake scams, highlights the importance of educating all employees about the risks associated with AI technologies.

Recommendations for policymakers

Policymakers must take proactive measures to facilitate the Gen AI transition. Some key initiatives are:

Talent development: A multifaceted approach to talent development is crucial. This includes educating individuals on the basics of Gen AI, training technical staff to manage and implement AI technologies, and equipping leaders with the knowledge to navigate the strategic implications of AI adoption.

Supporting SMEs: An AI transformation service for SMEs can help these businesses thrive in the Gen AI economy. This includes providing training courses, networking opportunities and affordable consulting services. Governments should also consider grants, loans and incentives to support AI adoption in SMEs.

Democratising AI access: Ensuring affordable access to AI technologies is essential for SMEs. This may involve utilising open-source models, exploring innovative AI technologies that require fewer computational resources, and considering AI as equivalent to a subsidised utility.

The emergence of generative AI is a watershed moment in the evolution of technology. Its potential to transform industries, redefine job roles and enhance productivity is immense. However, realising these benefits requires a concerted effort from individuals, corporations, policymakers and nations. By embracing strategic adaptation and proactive measures, we can harness the transformative power of Gen AI, ensuring a prosperous and inclusive future for all. The time to act is now, as the AI revolution continues to gather momentum, shaping the future of business and labour in profound ways.

Originally published by The Edge.

In April 2022, Bank Negara Malaysia issued five digital banking licences, signalling a step towards financial inclusion in the country. Three of the digital banks — AEON Bank (M) Bhd, GX Bank Bhd and Boost Bank Bhd — have since launched their platforms, saying they aim to cater to the underserved communities. Two more digital banks, one by the consortium of Sea Ltd and YTL Digital Capital Sdn Bhd and the other led by KAF Investment Bank, are expected to follow soon. But as these platforms roll out with promise of accessibility and innovation, the question arises: Will this push for financial inclusion be delivered, or is it just a well-crafted marketing strategy?

“Financial services are more like a necessity now than anything because people need to be able to pay for stuff and other things. All communities that live in Malaysia should have access to these and people who don’t are underserved, which includes refugees and the elderly who are having issues accessing financial services,” says Dr Melati Nungsari, associate professor of economics at the Asia School of Business.

“From the personal conversations I have had about digital banks, it appears that the people who have already signed up and taken advantage of all these great returns and stuff for now have been mainly the richer people, to be honest.”

According to the 2023 RinggitPlus Malaysian Financial Literacy Survey, 71% of the respondents said they could only save RM500 or less each month, while 67% stated their emergency savings could only last them three months or less.

Despite being cash-strapped, Malaysian households continued to allocate 60.7% of their income to consumption expenses in 2022, the Khazanah Research Institute points out in its report The Financialization of Our Lives: Values and Trade-offs, highlighting a shift towards spending rather than saving.

The report also said that more than half (55%) of Malaysians spend exactly or more than what they earn each month, effectively living paycheque to paycheque. This combination of low saving rate and insufficient emergency funds underscores the urgent need for improved financial literacy and education across the country.

With the recent launch of digital banks, which promise greater accessibility and financial inclusion, there is hope to foster better saving habits among the public, particularly the underserved.

Beyond the bottom 40% income earners (B40) and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the digital banks should also consider other underserved communities such as the immigrants, refugees and unbanked. While these groups represent a smaller percentage of the population, they should not be overlooked.

The first step toward financial inclusion for digital banks should be reducing the requirements for proof of identification for access to their services. It should be noted that providing education and reaching out to underserved communities are key to achieving true financial inclusion in the country.

“I can see the value of not having to go to a physical bank for communities who live far away or are hard to serve outside of urban areas. But if the digital banks really want to be different from traditional banks, they need to actually do things that make sense for these communities. Fewer identification requirements and less paperwork would be an example of these,” says Melati.

In addition to promoting financial inclusion, digital banks face the challenge of balancing their social mission with the need to remain profitable. In their applications to the central bank, they are required to maintain minimum capital funds of RM100 million and be unimpaired by losses for the first three to five years, also known as the foundational phase. After this period, the required capital is increased to RM300 million.

Applicants for the digital bank licence had to provide comprehensive details on their deployment of technology as well as address cybersecurity issues and IT governance. During the foundational phase, a cap of RM3 billion is placed on the asset size of digital banks.

Ultimately, digital banks will need to generate sufficient revenue streams, such as through lending products or transaction fees, without compromising on their commitment to inclusivity, say industry players.

Word on the street

Boost Bank chief technology officer Steven Gan is cognisant of the challenge. He stresses that the bank is working to break down barriers to allow users who don’t even have a traditional bank account to open a digital bank savings account.

Gan says that on a recent work trip to Kuala Terengganu, he came across many potential users who were unfamiliar with digital banking and had limited financial resources.

“When we did on-the-ground interviews at Mydin Bukit Mertajam, of the 500 users who came in, 97% said they did not have RM2,000 on hand to begin with. We want to stitch together the ecosystem and get the right momentum of saving and spending behaviour for these underserved customers,” he adds.

Gan wants to offer guidance to the underserved segment and eventually encourage saving and investing literacy. “Through BoostMyMoney, we hold monthly campaigns to bring awareness to them on how their funds are being managed and to give them financial literacy because cash is still power in some parts of Malaysia.”

Digital banks will need to join forces with the central bank and government to educate users who are not familiar with digital payment services.

“We are working to allow foreigners to come in as well after we have all the robust anti-money laundering (AML) security tools in place, together with the National Fraud Portal (NFP) built by Paynet,” says Gan.

While the NFP and MyDigital ID system by the government are underway, there is still a gap in onboarding immigrants or foreigners due to their limited financial resources and lack of digital literacy. Traditional banks might consider them high risk, making it difficult for them to access financial services.

However, Gan sees this as an opportunity. “We have adopted a very stringent AML ruling to detect not just your transaction monitoring and behavioural pattern, but also your digital activity.”

Read the full article HERE.
Originally published by The Edge.

Day: September 23, 2024