AI: Friend, enemy or frenemy?

From facilitating the creative process to fostering increased efficiency, Gen.T honourees weigh in on AI’s potential to impact their businesses and the challenges of this rising technology

You would have to have been living under a rock to not have seen the ultra-viral image of Pope Francis rocking a trendy, oversized white puffer jacket. But dapper as he looks, make no mistake about it, this #ootd did not happen IRL; rather, it was generated by artificial intelligence (AI). It was created based on prompts, or instructions, which its creator had entered into the generative AI imaging tool Midjourney.

That this hyper-realistic image hoodwinked many into thinking it’s real is just one of the reasons why the sudden proliferation of generative AI tools has become among the most hotly debated topics in technology in recent times. There have also been reports about how AI can be used to spread disinformation, with generative text tools like ChatGPT, for example, exhibiting a tendency to blur the lines between fact and fiction, and often making things up in response to user enquiries.

At the same time, there is no denying that AI has the potential to boost human creativity and productivity in positive ways, inspiring businesses in various sectors to take a closer look at how they can best adopt the technology.

With generative AI making it big, we have started to see weeks of work being done in just a matter of hours

- Jason Low -

“AI serves as a good challenge for us to be able to adapt in continuously finding creative solutions based on the needs of a specific project,” says Philippines-based Patrick Martin, founder and CEO of digital content creation company Lit Lab Studios and 2022 Gen.T honouree. “I see it in smartphone video editing software and apps that allow AI to instantly stitch and sync videos based on beats and melody, making filmmaking and video editing more accessible to the general public.”

AI is also becoming more important as an analytical tool used by investment firms and financial institutions. Foxmont Capital Partners’ founding partner Jelmer David Ikink, a 2023 Gen.T honouree, shares that his company uses platforms that “combine consumer and market data estimates of apps through the analysis of big data to find new deals, as well as more easily tracking the performance of our portfolio companies”. He says that AI platforms can also help to speed up due diligence by “accessing and parsing large data sets quickly and in a structured way”.

Ikink adds that in venture capital, AI can be used to help companies identify the best exit strategies for their portfolio companies. This can be done through predictive analytics to identify when it is the best time to sell an investment, or through online marketplaces which often use AI to match the parties in structured liquidity programmes or direct secondary sales.

“Although AI is in its infancy in the Philippines, it has the potential to offer exciting solutions and investment opportunities as it continues to develop in sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare, transportation and government services,” says Ikink.

Above Patrick Martin is the founder and CEO of digital content creation company Lit Lab Studios and 2022 Gen.T honouree

Malaysia’s Jason Low, co-founder and CEO of the metaverse and virtual spaces development company Virtualtech Frontier, is watching the space closely.

“Our platform mitoworld.io handles the creation of metaverses easily without code and enables a wide range of multimedia content like images, videos, 3D objects and music in the metaverse,” says the 2023 Gen.T honouree.

“We have seen a huge growth in generative AI that can actually accomplish all of this creative work that was previously done by individual specialists. It might take them weeks to render 3D files, for example, but with generative AI like Midjourney making it big, we have started to see weeks of work being done in just a matter of hours.”

This has led to some creatives expressing their concern that their jobs could cease to exist. The Gen.T honourees we spoke to, however, say there is little likelihood that machines will be displacing people any time soon because the human element remains essential.

“I see the creative industry as an intentional platform that should be strongly anchored by critical thinking and human emotions—things that AI might find hard to replicate and execute in the near future,” says Martin.

Our focus remains on upskilling the workforce and creating opportunities that collaborate seamlessly with AI

- Jennifer Zhang -

While Martin has been hearing ideas on integrating ChatGPT and other AI-driven platforms into creative projects, his team uses them strictly as productivity tools. “The closest I would allow it to be a part of our workflow would be in efficiently generating presentations for whenever we encounter a creative block. This way, it serves as a tool for efficiency, not as the main means in accomplishing an entire presentation,” he says, noting that AI might also be useful for speeding up time-consuming tasks such as generating mood boards.

Likewise, 2023 Gen.T honouree Jennifer Zhang, who is the co-founder and CEO of Singapore’s Wiz.AI, believes that when harnessed appropriately, AI can be used to create an impact for the betterment of the workforce.

“We are committed to advancing AI technology and exploring diverse business use cases,” she says. “Our focus remains on upskilling the workforce and creating opportunities like prompt engineer and AI development roles that collaborate seamlessly with artificial general intelligence.”

That said, as with other rising forms of technology, there are significant challenges in using AI. They include the potential bias and inaccuracy of the data being used to train AI models. There are also security and privacy concerns.

Above Foxmont Capital Partners’ founding partner Jelmer David Ikink, a 2023 Gen.T honouree

Above Jennifer Zhang, co-founder and CEO of Wiz.AI

“There have been many instances of AI that have generated strategies to penetrate cybersecurity for hackers and other threatening individuals,” Low cautions. “This will continue to be a concern and an uphill battle if no stronger policies are in place to control them. It is the same with other industries where AI is used to exploit vulnerabilities.”

But that doesn’t mean AI technology should be avoided.

“As with any discourse, there are both negatives and positives. Generative AI has the potential to work with human authors to create new collaborations. This is typical of new technologies and is not a one-way street,” says Alex Toh, local principal in the IP and Technology practice group of the law firm Baker McKenzie Wong and Leow in Singapore.

“Users and society can also influence technology,” he adds. “We must continue to engage in experimentation and discourse with new technology. If we do not do so, we will not be able to take advantage of it—and shape the way the technology is adopted and used. We must continue to do so in order to remain relevant amid technological change.”

See all the honourees on the Gen.T List 2023.

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Is artificial intelligence a friend or foe?