A recent study commissioned by IBM reveals that the Philippines is trailing behind its Southeast Asian neighbors in terms of AI (artificial intelligence) readiness. The study, conducted by Ecosystm, a digital research and advisory firm based in Singapore, surveyed 372 technology, data, and business leaders across five Asean countries.
The IBM survey results show varying levels of AI readiness across the region, with Singapore leading the list. In Singapore, 23% of respondents consider their organizations ready to leverage AI. Indonesia follows closely with 22%, Thailand at 20%, Malaysia at 19%, and the Philippines at 16%.
IBM’s report, titled “The AI Readiness Barometer: Asean’s AI Landscape,” offers in-depth insights into the challenges and opportunities associated with AI adoption in the region. The report identifies five stages of AI readiness: Traditional, Emerging, Consolidating, Transformative, and AI-first.
Organizations in the Traditional stage have limited AI capabilities, while those in the Emerging stage are beginning to explore AI technologies. The Consolidating stage involves integrating AI into broader operational areas, and the Transformative stage is where businesses use AI to drive significant change. Finally, in the AI-first stage, AI is central to the organization’s strategy and operations.
The rise of Generative AI
Generative AI (GenAI), which gained prominence with the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022, has disrupted industries worldwide. Despite the initial surge in awareness and interest, many organizations are still struggling to harness AI’s full potential to improve business efficiency and revenue. The report emphasizes that the challenge now is to move beyond the hype and integrate AI into core decision-making processes to unlock its transformative potential.
The study identifies several industries that have begun to leverage AI. In the manufacturing sector (including automotive and electronics), 18% of organizations are using AI. The financial services (banking) follow with 17%, while 16% of government entities are incorporating AI. The travel and transportation sector stands at 9%, the consumer and retail sector at 8%, and surprisingly, the telecom and media sector is also at 8%.
Governance and compliance challenges
Despite the growing adoption of AI, the study highlights that governance and compliance, critical issues for AI deployment, are not currently top priorities for many organizations. Only 13% of respondents are focused on improving data governance and compliance. More emphasis is placed on identifying business use cases for pilots or Proof of Concepts (PoCs) at 25%, improving data quality, interoperability, and consistency at 22%, upskilling and reskilling employees at 21%, and adopting new technologies for data management at 19%.
“Without a robust framework, organizations risk aligning AI initiatives to organizational objectives and value realization,” the report said.
Need for comprehensive AI strategy
The study reveals a significant gap in strategic planning. Although 85% of organizations believe they can benefit from AI, only 17% have a well-defined AI strategy. This lack of a comprehensive strategy often results in a narrow focus on AI’s immediate capabilities rather than its long-term impact. The report stresses that limiting the strategy to specific use cases can cause organizations to miss the potential for a more transformative impact across the entire organization. To fully capitalize on AI’s potential, organizations must recalibrate their AI journeys by clearly articulating a comprehensive AI strategy.
As Southeast Asian countries navigate the rapidly evolving AI landscape, the Philippines faces a challenge to enhance its AI readiness. To fully capitalize on AI’s transformative potential, organizations must develop robust strategies that integrate AI into their core operations and decision-making processes.
Thumbnail image is AI-generated.