The Debate | Society
In China, India, much of Southeast Asia, and elsewhere in Asia, the net benefits of AI are perceived by populations to be greater than their drawbacks.
We are living in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). AI dominates the headlines, spreads its influence into all spheres of life, and is increasingly seen as vital to the economic growth and national security of nations. The use of large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude have become ubiquitous in daily life. Needless to say, the increased spread of AI — and its impact on relationships, employment, and other facets of society — has provoked trepidation among many.
However, surveys consistently show that Asians — and in fact, most non-Western populations — are much more enthusiastic and excited about AI than people from the West. According to a survey conducted by Ipsos in 2025, over 80 percent of respondents from the Southeast Asian countries of Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore said that AI will profoundly change their lives in the next few years. Eighty-four percent of Chinese respondents said that products and services using AI excited them. Likewise, 65 percent of Indians, 67 percent of Turks, and 69 percent of South Koreans felt the same way, compared to 38 percent of Americans, 31 percent of Canadians, 37 percent of the British, and 40 percent of the French.
