Asia Looks to Protect Workers as AI Reshapes Millions of Jobs

The two-day event, titled 'Harnessing AI to Build Employment-Friendly Labour Markets in ASEAN and China,' allowed participants to examine how AI is affecting workplaces and public services across the region.

Artificial Intelligence is changing how people find work, build skills and perform daily tasks across Asia, raising urgent questions about who will benefit from the technology and who could be pushed further behind. Government officials, worker representatives and employers from South-East Asia and China gathered in Bangkok, Thailand, on 26–27 August for the Regional Policy Dialogue 2026, where they called for stronger social dialogue, wider access to digital tools and practical support for workers facing rapid changes in their jobs.

Human Judgment Must Remain at the Heart of Work

The two-day event, titled 'Harnessing AI to Build Employment-Friendly Labour Markets in ASEAN and China,' allowed participants to examine how AI is affecting workplaces and public services across the region. Discussions covered the use of advanced technology in public employment services, the development of modern skills systems and policy choices that could help countries introduce AI safely and ethically without weakening workers' rights or leaving vulnerable communities behind.

Participants agreed that technology may improve recruitment, job matching, training and labour market planning, yet human judgment remains essential when decisions affect people's livelihoods. Governments, employers and workers need to shape these systems together so that AI supports fair employment, decent working conditions and social justice instead of creating new forms of exclusion or reinforcing inequalities that already exist.

Nearly 80 Million Workers Face Possible AI Exposure

The scale of the challenge is already becoming clear, with almost 80 million workers in South-East Asia employed in occupations that could be exposed to generative AI. Exposure does not always mean that a job will disappear, since many roles may be changed, supported or reorganised by technology, but workers will need relevant training and clear protections as employers introduce new digital systems.

Participants called for stronger reskilling and upskilling programmes that give people the confidence and practical knowledge needed to respond to changing workplace demands. Special attention is needed for workers with limited access to reliable internet, digital devices, quality education or affordable training, because the benefits of AI will remain uneven if governments design policies without recognising the region's deep digital divide.

The dialogue encouraged countries to learn from one another through South-South cooperation, sharing tested ideas and lessons from AI projects already being used in employment services and skills development. Such cooperation can help policymakers avoid costly mistakes, create stronger safeguards and adapt successful approaches to the needs of different labour markets.

Regional Cooperation Can Turn Technology into Opportunity

The event was organised by the International Labour Organization and China's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security through an ILO project supporting the Global Development Initiative and South-South cooperation on employment in ASEAN. Chinese Vice Minister Wu Xiuzhang said China was ready to expand international cooperation on AI, including closer coordination on development strategies, governance systems, technical standards and the use of technology in labour policy.

Tuomo Poutiainen, Deputy Regional Director of the ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, noted that the economies of ASEAN and China are already being reshaped by digitalisation, demographic shifts, climate transitions and changing patterns of globalisation. The central task is to guide AI in a direction that creates opportunities, strengthens public employment services and supports decent work, with regional cooperation offering countries a practical way to develop policies suited to the realities faced by workers and businesses.

The Bangkok dialogue carried a clear message: AI policy cannot focus only on innovation, productivity or technical performance. Its success will also depend on whether workers have a voice, whether training reaches those who need it most and whether every person has a fair chance to take part in the changing world of work.