11th August 2026 – (Hong Kong) One in five Hong Kong workers fear artificial intelligence will damage their career prospects, while only 66 per cent expect a positive career effect from AI — the lowest share in Asia — according to a Robert Walters survey of nearly 5,000 professionals and companies across 10 Asian markets.
Among Hong Kong respondents, 91 per cent already use AI at work, mostly for routine chores: chatbots and information gathering each at 47 per cent, and data analysis at 37 per cent. Yet optimism lags. Mainland China (88 per cent), Vietnam (83 per cent) and Japan (80 per cent) all clear 80 per cent when asked if AI will help their careers; Hong Kong’s 66 per cent sits at the regional floor.
The 20 per cent who dread a negative career hit sit alongside Singapore’s 19 per cent at the top of Asia’s anxiety table — roughly double many other markets. Their main worries are skills becoming obsolete (41 per cent), having to carry responsibility for AI decisions (40 per cent) and jobs being replaced (39 per cent). Only 59 per cent feel confident they can keep upgrading skills as roles evolve.
Hong Kong employers, for their part, put critical thinking and fact-checking first among AI-era skills (61 per cent), followed by data analysis (58 per cent) and creativity (43 per cent). The ranking points away from pure process work and towards jobs that blend technology, judgment and ideas.
Across Asia, 58 per cent of employers have already brought AI into the workplace, chiefly for administrative and business support (43 per cent), information technology and digital transformation (35 per cent), and accounting and finance (32 per cent) — fields heavy on process and data. New titles such as AI product manager, data analyst and AI governance or risk manager are emerging. Only 33 per cent of firms say lifting headcount efficiency is the main goal of adopting AI, a finding the pollster reads as role change rather than wholesale replacement.
Robert Walters argued that using AI tools is rapidly becoming a basic threshold in Hong Kong offices. To stand out, workers must show what machines cannot: sharp critical thinking, insight into the local market and the nerve to challenge AI output. Writing prompts alone is not enough.