AI and the Singaporean worker

Singapore is one of the world’s most AI-ready economies. The infrastructure is being built, the policies are in place and the investment is real. But there is another conversation happening much more quietly, in consulting rooms, in HR offices and in the minds of working people who are not sure where they fit into what comes next. 

In this episode of Lens on Singapore, a video podcast from The Business Times, we spoke with Dr Christopher Cheok, assistant chairman of the Medical Board for Digital Health at the Institute of Mental Health, and David Leong, managing director of PeopleWorldwide Consulting. One sees the anxiety up close in clinical settings. The other advises organisations navigating workforce transformation. Between them they gave us a picture of what this moment actually feels like for the people living through it.

Why listen

• Why the anxiety is not about losing a job but about whether we will still matter  Dr Cheok makes a distinction that most of the public conversation misses entirely, and it is one worth sitting with.

• Why white-collar workers are now more exposed than blue-collar workers  Leong explains the inversion that has happened since 2022 and what it means for anyone in a structured, routine or analyst-level role.

• Why upskilling alone may not be enough and what to do  Dr Cheok gives practical, grounded advice for anyone watching restructuring happen around them and feeling frozen by it.

• Why the time AI saves us raises its own uncomfortable question  Leong puts it plainly: if AI frees up your hours, what are you actually going to do with those hours?

AI may change how we work, but it is already changing how we see ourselves. This conversation takes that seriously. Listen now.

Discover more episodes at bt.sg/podcasts. Got feedback? Email us at btpodcasts@sph.com.sg.

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Written and presented by: Claressa Monteiro (claremb@sph.com.sg)

With Dr Christopher Cheok, assistant chairman of the Medical Board for Digital Health at the Institute of Mental Health, and David Leong, managing director of PeopleWorldwide Consulting

Executive producer: Claressa Monteiro

SEE ALSO

My job, my skills, my future

Producer: Nicole Teo

Coordinating producer: Chai Pei Chieh

Video production: Studio +65

A podcast by BT Podcasts, The Business Times, SPH Media

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