Workers in Singapore more optimistic about AI than peers in US, UK

Around 69% of professionals in Singapore expressed optimism, compared with 59.4% in the U.K., 56.9% in Australia, and 54.3% in the U.S., The Straits Times reported. However, the city-state, recently ranked the world’s second-richest country by The Economist, trailed India (78.3%) and the United Arab Emirates (77.2%).

Confidence in government support is fueling this outlook, LinkedIn Asia-Pacific managing director Feon Ang told The Straits Times. "Singapore has a strong record of helping workers upskill and adapt through disruption, with initiatives such as those announced at the National Day Rally, job-matching and traineeship schemes, reinforcing that support," she said.

Workers are also pursuing AI training on their own. LinkedIn data showed a 147% growth in time spent on AI and generative AI courses in Singapore. Professionals are also increasingly adding AI-related skills to their profiles, Ang noted.

View of Singapore's Marina Bay Sands. Photo from Unsplash

The survey, conducted in July, polled more than 19,000 full-time employees, part-time workers, and job seekers across 14 countries.

Young professionals in Singapore, aged 18 to 24, were the most hopeful, with more than 80% saying AI would benefit their work lives. By contrast, some 62% of young people in the U.S. and U.K. believed AI could replace their jobs within the next decade, according to a separate 2024 survey by education provider General Assembly.

Ang said more than half of young Singaporean workers already use AI tools regularly, from drafting emails to higher-level analysis. She added that AI hiring in Singapore is expanding nearly 25% faster than overall hiring.

LinkedIn’s report also revealed that 28% of professionals feel embarrassed by how little they know about AI, while 32% avoid discussing it at work for fear of sounding uninformed. Younger workers reported the most pressure, with 21% of Gen Z (18–27 years old) and 22% of Millennials (28–43) admitting to exaggerating their AI skills, Mediaweek reported.

Despite this, professionals still prefer human judgment for critical decisions, the report found. While tools such as ChatGPT and Copilot are increasingly used for insights and productivity, only 25% of respondents would rely on them for decisions like asking for a raise or switching industries. The top sources of advice remained colleagues (51%), friends and family (44%), and managers (35%), according to Australian Manufacturing Forum.