As the use of artificial intelligence (AI) gains traction across industries today, it is often forgotten that the use of statistical models and algorithms have been around for decades. Credit bureaus, in particular, have long been using these techniques to generate credit scores which are then used by banks to assess an individual’s creditworthiness. The real game-changer therefore, is the introduction of smartphones, social media, geo-localization models and other interconnectivity devices that make new types of data available for use within these models.

Digitalisation was the lifeline that pulled many countries through the turbulence of the pandemic, and nowhere else was this more evident than in the ASEAN region.

Back in 2016, Professor of Sociology Paulin Tay Straughan examined the barriers and facilitators to part-time work for married women with childcare responsibilities (mothers) and older adults entering retirement (retirees). Her thesis then was that “it is imperative in ageing societies with declining fertility rates that flexibility be mainstreamed to encourage optimum labour force participation” (Straughan, 2016).

At a panel discussion titled ‘The Brave New Quantum Economy’ at the 2022 World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual meeting in Davos, panellist and physicist Jeremy O’Brien shared his opinion that quantum computing is “destined to be the most profoundly world changing technology humans have yet uncovered”, even more significant than the launch of artificial intelligence (AI).