Microsoft wants to arm 2.5 million people in Asean with AI skills

Microsoft has unveiled plans to spice up synthetic intelligence (AI) capabilities throughout 5 Southeast Asian markets, concentrating on to coach 2.5 million folks by 2025. 

The initiatives will likely be facilitated via partnerships with governments in addition to nonprofit and business organizations, the US cloud vendor mentioned Tuesday. These measures purpose so as to add 2.5 million folks to an “AI-ready” expertise pool that’s a part of the Asean Digital Masterplan 2025, Microsoft mentioned, including the skilling initiatives will likely be applied in 5 Asean (Affiliation of Southeast Asian Nations) member states: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. 

Requested to elaborate, Microsoft declined to supply particulars on the investments or funds it’s setting apart to facilitate its plans. As a substitute, it pointed ZDNET to the 4 key areas its skilling initiatives will concentrate on, which embrace plugging the cybersecurity expertise hole and boosting builders’ AI expertise.

These initiatives will run alongside different schemes, comparable to Microsoft’s Ready4AI&Safety program, which goals to coach 15,000 youths in Indonesia and Malaysia, emphasizing alternatives for ladies to construct careers in cybersecurity. This system contains entry to Microsoft’s safety coaching and certifications. 

With the Asia-Pacific area going through a cybersecurity expertise hole of two.7 million folks final yr, Microsoft mentioned AI-powered safety capabilities are more and more essential to fight modern-day cyber threats. 

The tech agency mentioned vocational institutes are additionally crucial in offering sensible coaching for industry-focused roles. It hopes to spice up the area’s vocational academic methods with AI expertise by way of a collaboration between the Asean Basis and schooling ministries within the 10 Asean member states. This initiative is estimated to learn 644,000 vocational college students, Microsoft mentioned. 

Microsoft additionally plans to develop its partnership with the United Nations Improvement Programme Asia Pacific and provide 570,000 youths from underserved communities entry to AI coaching to boost their employability.

Upskilling Asean youth in AI is a “pivotal step” that’s aligned with the area’s 2025 digital masterplan, mentioned Piti Srisangnam, Asean Basis’s govt director. Fostering a sustainable digital expertise ecosystem can even contribute considerably to the area’s improvement, Srisangnam added. 

“Investing in AI expertise is investing in a future the place financial development is inclusive, giving each individual an opportunity to contribute and profit,” mentioned Andrea Della Mattea, Microsoft’s Asean president. “With a sturdy pool of expertise expert in disruptive applied sciences, Asean is nicely positioned for the worldwide tech race.” 

The US cloud vendor on Wednesday additionally unveiled plans for a brand new information middle area in Thailand, as a part of its efforts to construct up the market’s cloud and AI infrastructure and supply AI skilling alternatives for greater than 100,000 folks. 

Microsoft mentioned AI is projected so as to add nearly $1 trillion to Southeast Asia’s gross home product by 2030, citing analysis from Kearney. Thailand is predicted to account for $117 billion of this determine. 

“Thailand has an unimaginable alternative to construct a digital-first, AI-powered future,” mentioned Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella, who was in Bangkok for Microsoft Construct: AI Day. The brand new information middle area and the seller’s different investments, together with in cloud and AI, will look to assist Thai organizations in each private and non-private sectors “drive new influence and development”, Nadella mentioned. 

Microsoft at present operates a information middle area in Singapore, which helps Southeast Asia, amongst a number of different websites throughout Asia-Pacific, together with South Korea and Japan. New websites positioned on this area are additionally underway in Indonesia and Malaysia.