MANILA, Philippines – The International Labour Organization (ILO) released a new policy brief on Wednesday, July 8, citing how generative artificial intelligence might affect the nearly 80 million workers in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that have some degree of potential exposure to GenAI.

According to the brief, only 3.3% of employment is concentrated in occupations with the highest levels of exposure, with GenAI exposure measuring the technical feasibility of automating or assisting with tasks within a given occupation.

GenAI: significant exposure, but disruption not yet visible

The brief showed that across the nine ASEAN countries with available data, Singapore has the highest share of workers with more than minimal degree of GenAI — some 42.2% of total employment. The Philippines ranks second with 28.1% — reflecting in part the relatively service-oriented economy and the prominence of information technology and business process management jobs.

Meanwhile, Indonesia (21.7%), Vietnam (20.8%) and Thailand (20.6%) also record significant levels of GenAI exposure.

The brief also noted that “in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, wage workers with significant GenAI exposure earned notably more than those who faced minimal or no exposure, suggesting that GenAI-exposed roles are associated with higher productivity or skill premiums.”

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The brief showed that women were also more likely than men to work in occupations with the highest levels of GenAI exposure. “Across ASEAN, 4.8% of women were employed in occupations with high GenAI exposure (G4) in 2025, compared with 2.3% of men.”

This gender gap is said to be most pronounced in Thailand and the Philippines, where women are around three to four times more likely than men to work in occupations highly exposed to GenAI. Accordingly, there are similar, though smaller, gaps seen across most other ASEAN countries.

Despite this, the brief noted that “the potential for labor market transformation is significant, but widespread disruption is not yet visible.” It added that employment in highly-exposed occupations has continued to expand across ASEAN, without evidence so far of large-scale job losses associated with the emergence of GenAI.

Future outcomes to depend on preparedness of countries

Because widespread disruption is not yet visible, the extent to which GenAI contributes to productivity gains, quality jobs, and inclusive and equitable growth will depend on countries’ level of preparedness, which the brief said differed across ASEAN nations.

The Philippines, for one, is listed in a group — including Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Indonesia, and Vietnam — as having “established many of the foundations needed for AI adoption but continues to face important gaps in areas such as advanced skills, research capacity, computing infrastructure, innovation ecosystems and access to finance.”

While constraints vary across countries, how countries address their gaps will help determine how AI adoption and the ability to translate technological advances into productivity gains will occur.

The brief made some recommendations to better address ASEAN countries’ preparedness.

It first recommended strengthening AI governance structures and policy integration through a human-centered approach. It said ministries for employment, labor, and social protection should be included in the building of an evidence base and in the design and implementation of AI-related policies, both in national and regional levels, and to build strong and gender-responsive social dialogue mechanisms that integrate workers’ and employers’ perspectives to inform policy decisions.

Second, it recommended inclusive labor market policies to strengthen worker resilience and support labor market transitions, all in addition to suitable education policies that would help prepare a future workforce. The brief added that “particular attention should be given to women, given their concentration in more exposed occupations and the barriers they face in entering STEM education and related fields, which may increase the risk that GenAI exacerbates existing inequalities.”

Third, supporting AI adoption and capability development among enterprises will be essential to ensure that productivity gains are widely shared and, in particular, not limited to the formal sector. It explaned that “policies should focus on helping more enterprises — particularly micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) — overcome barriers to adoption.”

Fourth, it recommended that there be sustained and greater investment in digital infrastructure, skills, and the broader innovation ecosystem so that AI adoption can be more inclusive of everyone, especially since different countries are coming from different AI adoption starting points. This includes expanding digital connectivity, strengthening digital and AI-related skills, and fostering innovation capacity to aid in adopting AI and benefitting from it.

Lastly, the brief recommended “stronger regional cooperation” so ASEAN countries can better manage a common technological transition while responding to diverse national circumstances. These include things like cross-country sharing of knowledge and best practices alongside better monitoring of AI-related labor market trends

The ILO concluded, “While GenAI has immense potential to transform the world of work, it must be approached as a tool to be mastered rather than a solution to all… Ultimately, future labor market outcomes will depend less on exposure alone than on the policy choices to build the preparedness and resilience of workers, enterprises and institutions to adapt and navigate the AI transition.”

The full policy brief can be viewed and downloaded here. – Rappler.com