With 10 million workers in the services sector, Malaysia could be more exposed to widespread unemployment than most realise, with up to 320,000 jobs at risk, rising to 680,000 under deeper automation scenarios. Dr Thomas Lim Kok-Tiong, author of "Augmentation or Elimination: The Potential Impact of AI on the Malaysian Economy," a paper published by ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, discusses the possibility of widespread structural unemployment in Malaysia caused by AI.

We discuss:

• How AI-induced job augmentation differs from elimination

• Estimates for AI-caused unemployment, and how they compare to Malaysia's Covid-19 unemployment rate

• The limits of job reskilling

• How agentic AI adoption changes the picture, and why Malaysia's status as an "AI Contender" could make its workforce more vulnerable

• What government policy could look like to get ahead of structural unemployment before it happens