KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 1 — Around six in 10 Malaysians polled (62 per cent) believed that artificial intelligence (AI) will likely replace their jobs — which is higher than the global average of just 36 per cent.

According to the Ipsos Malaysia’s "Artificial Intelligence (AI) Monitor” released today, the survey also showed that just 61 per cent of respondents said they have a good understanding of what AI is — slightly lower than the global average of 67 per cent.

"The rapid evolution of generative AI platforms over the past year has ushered in a new era of artificial intelligence (AI), bringing significant changes to the lives and businesses around the world,” said Ipsos Managing Director Arun Menon and Research Manager Atticus Poon in a joint statement.

"Ipsos 32-country survey reveals that three out of 3 people across the world claim that they have a good understanding of AI. In Malaysia, the number is slightly lower compared to our Southeast Asia neighbouring countries like Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.”

Other findings included:

• 79 per cent of Malaysians felt that AI will likely change how they do their jobs in the next five years — compared to 60 per cent globally.
• 68 per cent felt AI products and services make them excited — compared to 53 per cent globally.
• Many Malaysians agree that AI will make things better and contribute to the economy and their jobs.
• Asians are more excited about AI than European and Anglosphere citizens.

"Malaysians display great excitement about AI. However, this is also tempered with a degree of nervousness. The impact of AI on the job market seems to be apparent to Malaysians, as they anticipate potential redundancies of their current jobs.

"Despite this, many are optimistic that AI will make things better and contribute to the economy. This optimism is shared across Asian/developing economies compared to European/developed markets,” they said.

The survey titled 'What do Malaysians Feel About AI', was conducted between April 19 and May 3 this year, involving over 500 Malaysian adults,

It was part of a broader study encompassing 23,685 online adults under 75 across 32 countries.