Business and government must seize innovation edge

April 22, 2024

SINGAPORE – Few regions are as positive about innovation as Asia-Pacific (APAC).

And for good reason: trade and technology have been central to the region’s growth and development. Even as the global economy continues to change, innovation has made the region richer, healthier, and better educated.

Edelman’s 2024 APAC Trust Barometer study found that people in APAC countries are more likely than those elsewhere to believe in the promise of technology. The majority trust green energy (75 percent), artificial intelligence (62 percent), and even gene-based medicine (56 percent). In the case of AI, APAC has a 12-point lead over the global average (50 percent), suggesting greater optimism towards AI’s future-defining potential.

This is reflective of a broader attitude towards innovation in APAC, and the region’s business and government leaders must seize this advantage. They have a unique opportunity to create an environment where innovation can flourish, and people feel secure enough to embrace it.

However, this is a window that could quickly close if they don’t act soon. Edelman’s survey revealed that there is a backlash against technology globally, and it would be wishful thinking to suggest that APAC is immune to such doubts emerging.

A regional backlash against technology’s potential would be a tremendous loss because innovation is essential to APAC’s economic growth and to the further development of the technology itself.

Why are so many people globally, and potentially in APAC, wary of innovation?

Many want a better explanation, in layman’s terms, of the benefits of scientific advances and more engagement on how they might improve their lives.

Many believe that today’s ultimate managers of technological