A saying that’s been doing the rounds since ChatGPT took over the internet is that ‘AI won’t replace humans, but humans with AI will’. The rise of generative AI and technological advancements has raised several questions about its impact on the present ‘workforce.

To what extent is the involvement of AI ‘healthy’? How do we continue to give people a key competitive advantage, even as AI becomes more widespread in business? Will AI replace our business leaders?

While the questions are daunting, the answers are comparatively simpler. Leadership is all about making informed and wise decisions in a world brimming with complex data. AI helps leaders decipher these complexities, extracting insights, and providing a clear path forward.

This newfound clarity empowers leaders to make swift and accurate decisions, especially during time-sensitive situations. AI also gives a holistic picture of the business landscape by allowing them to investigate strategic possibilities and identify potential hazards.

Concept of leadership in the context of AI and technological advancements

In the past, computers could only perform predefined tasks — ones for which they were programmed. But computers have advanced too. The emergence of ‘machine learning’ technologies already has widespread business applications.

Southeast Asia is rapidly emerging as a hub for this innovation too. A 2020 study by Kearney, a leading global management consulting firm, had some interesting insights. It showed that 70% of Southeast Asian respondents saw AI as vital to their future and demanded the field’s advancement in the area be sped up.

With the widespread use of AI, Southeast Asia has the potential to gain up to US$950 billion by 2030. This translates to a 10 to 18 per cent increase in GDP.

Also Read: How to drive business innovation with AI-powered data analytics

In this context, AI will be a catalyst when it comes to redefining leadership.

Using advanced AI algorithms, companies can revolutionise leadership development programs. These programs can analyse a leader’s performance, strengths, and weaknesses. They can discover gaps and offer specific learning materials to help them succeed.

Leaders can benefit from a learning experience that is effective and efficient, with a learning path that adjusts to their pace and progress.

However, while computers transcend human ability, great business leaders are set apart by their emotional intelligence.

Evolving role of leaders

In the past, we have seen leadership styles evolve to adapt to the times. We have gone from traditional authoritative management to a more collaborative and coaching-oriented approach. With the emergence of AI, leaders are at the forefront of another transformation. Now, there will be a renewed focus on people management and strategy.

Instead of micromanaging, leaders ought to focus on empowering their teams. In addition to increasing trust, delegating work enables staff members to use their abilities and creativity. Additionally, hearing team members’ opinions encourages a diverse and creative workplace.

The evolving role of leaders hinges on qualities like emotional intelligence, adaptability, and humility. Leaders should realise that leadership is less about having all the answers themselves and more about empowering other people to find the right solutions. Leaders may use AI as a potent tool to promote people management, coach team members, and adopt a more collaborative style, to drive creativity, efficiency, and innovation in the rapidly evolving landscape of the modern workplace.

Opportunities and challenges

Leaders adopting an AI-supported and collaborative approach will see many opportunities and a few challenges. Adopting this strategy can have a significant impact on organisational performance, culture, motivation, and employee satisfaction.

The advantages of such leadership include the capacity to use AI to perform tedious jobs and freeing up people to work on more creative and strategic work. They also can use data analytics to improve decision-making. This can then result in more production, innovation, and overall organisational success. Additionally, encouraging a friendly and cooperative environment can raise employee’s morale and motivation.

Employees feel valued, engaged, and more motivated to give their best to the organisation when leaders place a priority on people management and tactics. Top talent can be attracted and retained through a culture that values collaboration and growth.

However, there are challenges and risks to navigate as well. Employee resistance to change is a common challenge since they may worry about how AI will affect their workflow and job security.

Also Read: Can hyper-personalisation be achieved through automation and AI?

Here are some ways to approach this:

• A transparent discussion of ethical issues relating to data privacy and AI decision-making will give assurance to employees and prevent them from making any rash decisions.
• Leaders must also know that technical glitches and failures can disrupt operations.
• While an AI-supported leadership program might encounter risks and obstacles, leaders must demonstrate adaptability, ethical responsibility, and a commitment to addressing employee concerns in the pursuit of a harmonious and successful workplace.

In conclusion, the changing nature of leadership in the age of AI involves striking a delicate balance between maximising the potential of technology and giving people management top priority. Leaders must create an integrated strategy that recognises the interaction between people and technology to successfully navigate this environment.

Leaders should embrace transparency, include staff in AI-related decisions, and offer thorough training to overcome reluctance. Clear rules, a culture of responsible AI use, and continuing ethical conversations can be used to address ethical quandaries.

Thorough testing and contingency planning can be used to manage technical issues.

Successful firms will be those that maximise the advantages of AI while also hosting a collaborative and creative working culture. The leaders who master this integrated strategy will be designers of a new world where artificial intelligence and human intellect work together to advance society.

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Vietnamese genetic testing company Gene Solutions has received US$21 million in a Series B financing round from Fund IV of local PE firm Mekong Capital, according to a TechInAsia report.

This comes two years after the firm secured US$15 million from Mekong in 2021.

Established in 2017 by Vietnamese scientists, Gene Solutions has developed triSureFirst, a noninvasive prenatal test (NIPT) for detecting abnormalities of chromosome numbers in the fetus, such as Down Syndrome, Edwards, and Patau.

The test, based on detecting cell-free DNA of the placenta, is released into the mother’s blood to assess the risk of the fetus suffering from birth defects due to chromosomal number abnormalities.

The company claims that triSureFirst’s positive predictive value is 94 per cent for all three syndromes.

Also Read: Ex-Zalo executives’ proptech startup Rever snags US$10.2M from Mekong Capital

Since 2018, Gene Solutions claims to have made accurate tests accessible to over 500,000 pregnant women, helping over 65,000 pregnant women avoid unnecessary amniocentesis.

The startup has a presence in Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia. It also expects to open an oncology laboratory in Singapore in November 2023.

Established in 2001, Mekong Capital invests in private Vietnamese companies. Its latest fund, MEF IV, with a fund size of US$246 million, focuses on retail, education, restaurants, consumer services, FMCG, and health care. Its portfolio companies include Entobel, Marou, Mutosi, HSV Group, LiveSpo Global, and Rever.

In March this year, MEF IV completed an investment of US$20 million in F88. In May 2023, Reuters reported that Mekong Capital is looking to build a climate fund worth up to US$200 million as early as next year.

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The world is facing a multi-crisis environment that could persist for the foreseeable future. But instead of being overwhelmed by pessimism, entrepreneurs seek creative methods to resolve the environmental, social and economic issues posing obstacles to society at large.

Impact entrepreneurship, as it is known, is one of the “most meaningful” ways through which scalable solutions can be attained to solve some of these challenges, says EQT Foundation CEO Cilia Indahl.

“At the Foundation, we believe that entrepreneurship can be a key driving force in helping to solve some of the pressing challenges our world is facing today,” she says in an interview with The Edge Singapore.

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The Scaleup Report by Startup Genome that was launched today in Melbourne revealed the three key factors that founders who look to improve their chances of scaling should ensure: Offering stock options for all employees, owning more than five global connections to top ecosystems, and having at least three advisors for their startup.

“Scaleup success rate clearly increases with Global Connectedness and startups that develop a high level of Global Connectedness have a 3.25x higher chance of scaling than those with a low level,” the report detailed.

“Ecosystems that are more connected to top global ecosystems (such as Silicon Valley, New York City, and London) see their startups go global at a much higher rate on average (66 per cent correlations between those very distinct variables).”

Despite the importance of connectedness on a global level, this did not mean that local connectedness did not play a role. The Local Connectedness Index measures the size, density, and quality of a startup’s local network, and it impacts a startup’s ability to scale.

“Startups with a Local Connectedness Index score of six or above achieve a scaleup of 5.1 per cent compared to 3.8 per cent for those with a score of two to four, a 34 per cent boost. Early-stage startups with a higher Local Connectedness Index see their revenue grow twice as fast as those with the lower Local Connectedness Index,” the report said.

Also Read: TikTok vs Shopee EC war in SEA: How can startups leverage the competition?

In addition to Startup Genome’s own research and dataset on startup ecosystems, the report also received contributions from experts such as the Global Entrepreneurship Network and Dealroom.

It provides insights into the characteristics that separate startups that successfully scaled from those that failed and highlights actionable insights for entrepreneurs, enterprise support organisations, and policymakers seeking to increase the proportion of startups scaling to a US$50 million+ valuation.

Factors that help startups to scale up

In addition to access to collaboration with local and global ecosystems, the report also looks at the countries with a significant number of “scaleups”–startups that have achieved significant milestones in their scaling-up journey.

“The US, China, and the UK are the top countries by number of total scaleups, with 7,100 based in the US—4.8x more scaleups than in China and 11.5x more than in the UK. India, Canada, Germany, Israel, France, South Korea, and Singapore (in order), round out the top 10 countries globally for the number of scaleups,” the report said.

“Top countries for VC investment into scaleups are the US, China, India, the UK, and Germany. North America makes up 55 per cent of all global VC investment raised in scaleups, with the US alone contributing 53 per cent. Since 2020, the US has received more VC investment than the rest of the world combined.”

Also Read: Sustainable farming, supply chain traceability startup Koltiva raises Series A funding

The report also said that for early stage startups that go global, they are on a revenue growth curve that is 2x faster than those that do not.

“For non-US startups that target the global market first, the scaleup rate doubles,” the report highlights.

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Speaking to e27 before a panel discussion at the recent Forbes Global CEO Conference 2023 in Singapore, Alpha Intelligence Capital Co-Founder and Managing Partner Antoine Blondeau revealed that the firm is on its way to closing its latest fund, which is targeted to happen in 2024.

“We are sort of halfway through the race right now. We already closed about US$20 million but are about to close more. It is targeted at US$300 million plus, so it’s quite significant,” he said.

Having a presence in the US, Europe, and Asia, Alpha Intelligence Capital intends to invest 10 per cent of the upcoming fund in Asia, where the firm sees great potential for AI technology. Its portfolio consists of notable names such as AI Music (acquired by Apple), Reaqta (acquired by IBM), and Instadeep (acquired by BioNTech).

Blondeau himself is not a new face in the world of AI. He was the CEO of Dejima, the company that powered DARPA’s foundational CALO project that evolved into Apple’s Siri, and COO of Nasdaq-listed Zi Corporation, whose predictive text input software was embedded in hundreds of millions of devices.

In this conversation, we are looking into the present and future of AI in Southeast Asia, from the challenges to the opportunities. The following is an edited excerpt of the conversation.

Also Read: How Transparently.AI uses Artificial Intelligence to detect accounting manipulation, fraud

Everybody is talking about Gen AI today. But where do you think this trend is going?

Historically, machine learning was very good at solving things such as perception. So, you could perceive very well, or you could detect a tumour on a CT scan or MRI. It was also very good at optimisation; you could do price optimisations, logistics functions optimisations … But the cognition piece, which is critical to human decision-making, was not yet solved. Things such as being able to understand a question in context and being able to make sense of what is being perceived.

Gen AI is beginning to solve that. It is the first time ever that we see a non-human intelligence being able to close the loop fully; not just perception, optimisation, but also cognition.

To me, it’s just the beginning. We’ll still be talking about this in 10 to 100 years and beyond.

How do you envision this AI is going to be used in the future, within the next two to three years?

Historically, AI was about a few developers building it for a few users, which are mostly business users. But now, this can be built and consumed by many. That is a big difference.

We see a lot of interest in healthcare. We see a lot of interest in cybersecurity, enterprise software, and all the functions of a company from HR to IT services management, even down the road to accounting, legal to resource optimisation.

Whether it’s B2B or B2C … those are critical aspects where we see AI becoming more and more important and being adopted.

Also Read: RevComm’s MiiTel, Cloud IP phone powered by artificial intelligence, is changing how businesses engage customers

How about Southeast Asia? Is there any particular trend that is happening?

Historically, human talent in the AI space had some amount of critical mass in the Bay Area, London, and Tel Aviv. The requirement for deep talent is less obvious. What you really need is people who can understand how to use it. And also understanding the underlying aspects of the technology well enough to be able to cover for the pitfalls of it. So, the barrier to entry is coming down. And as a result, adoption can be broader, and interesting companies can be built anywhere.

Obviously, in Southeast Asia, Singapore has been the country where there has been more attention paid to it.

In our last fund, we actually invested in a Singapore company in the cybersecurity space, which we were able to sell to IBM. There will be a number of companies like this in Singapore and the region, but I think the opportunity is a lot more for large enterprise-type businesses.

The banking, logistics, and airline industries have begun to adopt it as well.

One thing that Gen AI is doing is pushing cloud consumption dramatically. Because it is like taking a slice of our biological brain and putting it into the cloud; essentially, that is what happening. It drives cloud consumption, which in turn is drive the demand for underlying hardware. Countries that are semiconductors manufacturing countries can benefit from it. It is clearly the case for some countries in Southeast Asia.

Last but not least, countries in Southeast Asia that have young populations, such as Indonesia, [have great promise for AI use].

For large enterprises, what are their main challenges in incorporating AI into their operations?

First is understanding what it can do. I think there is a big educational aspect there.

Also Read: Will China lead the Artificial Intelligence game by 2030?

Second is internal resistance because there is a lot of misconceptions and misunderstanding as to whether this is going to replace jobs. And I think there are also some legitimate concerns. So, being able to understand and assuage concerns is an important deliverable.

The third aspect is that when companies implement AI, they have to marry the technology aspects with deep domain expertise. So [they have to] organise project teams where the expertise is present.

When it comes to regulations and innovation, there is always that concern about it stifling creativity for the sake of security. So, where do we find a middle ground?

The middle ground is always to try and try; you can create things like sandboxes. Whether it is in finance or healthcare, you enable sandboxes so that you foster a certain amount of innovation that is somewhat controlled in terms of its distribution. Then once you cross the bridge of demonstrating value in a context where it is not detrimental to the user and societal fabric, then you proceed.

It is always easier to do when a country is small, where the stakeholders are few. So Singapore is always very well-placed to put that in place.

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