I stumbled upon an interesting TikTok video after returning home from Saturday Mass. The speaker is a Singaporean who had just returned from about three weeks in China.
During his trip, he met business people, visited companies and saw firsthand how quickly AI is changing the business environment.
What he brought back was not simply a story about technology.
It was a story about disruption — and opportunity.
According to his observations, AI is already affecting many parts of life and work in China. The impact reaches from clerical and office jobs to industrial and manufacturing work. Some jobs have been displaced, and for the people affected, this can be painful and unsettling.
But what struck me most was how people are responding.
Rather than pretending the disruption isn't happening, many Chinese people are facing it directly. They know AI is part of the future, so there is a strong push to learn and understand it.
In other words:
If AI is coming, learn how to use it.
I found that attitude particularly interesting.
The Singaporean speaker believes that what he saw in China could eventually happen more widely in Singapore, Malaysia and other ASEAN countries. His purpose in sharing his experience was to let people in the region understand both sides of the story — the disruption that AI can cause and the opportunities it can create.
I think that is an important message for all of us.
We often talk about AI as something exciting: ChatGPT, image generation, automation, robots and new businesses.
But there is another side.
AI can also change the way people earn a living.
Some tasks will disappear. Some jobs will change. New jobs and new opportunities will emerge. And people who learn to work with AI may find themselves in a better position than those who simply ignore it.
This doesn't mean everyone has to become a technology expert.
Far from it.
At 80+, I'm certainly not trying to become an AI engineer. I'm simply learning how AI can help me write, research, organize my thoughts and continue doing things that interest me.
That is why I started AI123.ca.
My approach is quite simple:
Exploring → Learning → Documenting.
Perhaps that is also the lesson we can take from what is happening in China.
We may not be able to stop technological change. We may not even know exactly where AI will take us.
But we can prepare ourselves.
Learn a little.
Experiment a little.
Ask questions.
And keep an open mind.
The Chinese experience described by this Singaporean speaker may be a warning about the disruption ahead. But I also see something positive in it.
When disruption arrives, learning can become a form of preparation.
Whether you live in China, Singapore, Malaysia, Canada or somewhere else, that is a lesson worth thinking about.
At 80, I don't expect to outrun AI.
But I can keep learning.
And perhaps that is the best way to move forward.
This reflection is based on a TikTok video by a Singaporean speaker who had recently returned from a three-week visit to China, where he met business people and companies and observed the impact of AI. The views about China's experience and its possible relevance to Singapore, Malaysia and ASEAN are his perspective, followed by my own reflections.
AI123.ca — Exploring → Learning → Documenting
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