Singapore: AI Job Disruption, Hiring Shift & Youth Unemployment with Shiyan Koh - E552
“One is, of course, AI. And I think it's a really interesting topic. I had a friend tell me—AI doesn't need a career path, AI doesn't need a weekend off, AI doesn't need compliments, and AI is a fraction of the cost of an analyst. So why do I need an analyst? And there's quite a lot of truth to some of those statements. That’s an interesting topic to explore a little bit—like if a lot of entry-level jobs were really around research, slide prep, meeting prep, all that sort of stuff, what does it mean when your partner at a consulting firm, MD, VP at an investment bank—all the way down the line—can basically have those job functions done with the press of a button, at a much lower cost and faster?” - Shiyan Koh, Managing Partner of Hustle Fund
“How do I take this and turn my interests, my passions, into a career? And maybe you start out and you're like, okay, I'm like a PT. But then there’s people who are like, "Oh, then I build a gym." "I build software for my gym." I think there’s this sort of more, like, entrepreneurial way to think about it—versus it’s not like a top-down thing. There’s this notion of, "Hey, we should actually all become attuned to what our market needs that match up with our passions." And how do we have the agency to identify those and say, let’s go try something and do it?” - Shiyan Koh, Managing Partner of Hustle Fund
“Whatever we think of AI today is going to be way more capable in ten years. We're just going to assume that you're going to figure out how to use it. And how do you, like, get them oriented towards a goal? The third one is, like, a little bit harder, which is—like—the people who can best use AI are actually the people who have the most context. Because they can direct it more effectively. And maybe the answer is—you don’t pick. You just have to be really good at learning something so that wherever you end up, you’re really good at teaching yourself how to get deep in that thing—or deep enough that you can go direct it.” - Shiyan Koh, Managing Partner of Hustle Fund
Shiyan Koh, Managing Partner of Hustle Fund, and Jeremy Au explored the growing challenges of youth unemployment in Singapore and how AI is fundamentally changing the job market. They discussed how the rise of automation is making entry-level roles less necessary, leading companies to prioritize experienced hires who can work with AI rather than train fresh graduates. They also examine how AI amplifies the gap between high and low performers, making adaptability and self-motivation more crucial than ever. They also talked about the need for educational reforms that focus on problem-solving and real-world applications, as well as how young professionals can position themselves for success in an AI-driven economy.