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AI’s disruption of law firms could hold lessons for the broader business community

Artificial intelligence is replacing lawyers. What should the legal industry, and Singapore, do in response to the great disruption that is already taking place? 

    • The business community will need to make bold moves and effect sweeping change to capitalise on the newest disruptive technology.  
    • The business community will need to make bold moves and effect sweeping change to capitalise on the newest disruptive technology.   PHOTO: PIXABAY
    Stefanie Yuen Thio
    Published Thu, Aug 28, 2025 · 07:00 AM

    LIKE the rest of the developed world, Singapore is grappling with increasing graduate unemployment. In July, the government announced that it is watching the employment situation of graduates closely, as a 2025 survey showed that fewer graduates are finding jobs in the first year. 

    Artificial intelligence (AI) has not yet been rolled out in businesses en masse. When companies do eventually, and inevitably, integrate AI into their businesses, the impact on jobs will be multiplied many fold. Bill Gates thinks that humans will eventually not be needed for most jobs. “It’s very profound and even a little bit scary – because it’s happening very quickly, and there is no upper bound,” he said. 

    Undergraduates and those yet to embark on a tertiary education are anxious about employment prospects, while parents have no idea which courses of study to guide their kids towards.

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