Gradual adoption of generative AI among Asian firms eyed in second half of 2024: survey

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is set to undergo a renaissance in Asia after an impressive start in late 2022, buoyed by several private entities and massive government support.

A handful of Asian businesses are keen on incorporating generative AI tools and products into their operations, citing efficiency and productivity as deciding factors.

This projection leans on a Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) survey involving over 1,200 business executives across 24 countries on the Asian continent. According to the poll, the majority of the firms are launching pilot programs to stress test AI applications with their existing workflows ahead of a mainstream rollout.

The bulk of the efforts are expected to begin in the second half of the year after previous skirmishes with the technology yielded a string of early positives. Going forward, the companies are poised to increase the size of their AI bets regarding infrastructure, staff upskilling and integration with internal processes.

“We believe this year is when a lot more momentum will be gained, with some of these initiatives becoming bigger in terms of projects,” said TCS head of AI Siva Ganesan.

For the surveyed executives, 55% of respondents say AI will have as much impact as the Internet revolution of the 90s with a similar number keen on building new offerings around AI and other emerging technologies. Despite the interest in generative AI, a handful of surveyed executives confirm that their organizations do not have an ideal framework to implement and deploy the technology.

“The need of the hour is that all this new technology has to be ingested or assimilated,” remarked Ganesan. “I think we have all seen in the last 18 months or so that generative AI has been quite a revolution.”

Asian entities have been experimenting with AI, racking up impressive levels of success across retail, transport, finance and security verticals. Singaporean financial behemoth OCBC announced a partnership with OpenAI to roll out a chatbot to improve customers’ experiences while increasing employee productivity.

In Japan, Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and the University of Tokyo are teaming up to use AI to improve the state of job searches, while the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is racing to fund AI-themed projects for public use cases.

Regional competition

Asia follows behind North America and Europe in terms of AI development and its contribution to the valuation of the broader industry. A significant number of AI firms have their headquarters in the United States or Europe, providing their residents with early access to the latest AI innovation.

However, the injection of capital toward the development of localized large language models (LLMs) in the Middle East and Southeast Asia is expected to score some points for the continent. If Europe proceeds with stifling AI regulations, friendly government regulations in Asia are expected to lure frontline AI companies to set up shop on the continent.

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