AI Adoption Accelerates in APAC, But Consumers Struggle with Trust, Security, and Job Displacement Concerns – CRN

A new study by F5 , which explored the perceptions and attitudes APAC consumers have about AI. Consumers across APAC are facing an AI paradox: where the technology is embraced for productivity and efficiency, but fears around privacy risks, fraud, and employment impact hindering widespread trust.

Titled The 2025 AI Paradox: Understanding Consumer Perceptions in APAC, the research identified five key paradoxes influencing consumer trust in AI across nine APAC countries:

⦁ Empowerment vs. Control: Consumers are excited about AI’s potential but demand transparency and governance to feel in control of their data and experiences.

⦁ Tech Savviness vs. Skepticism: Despite high levels of tech adoption, consumers remain skeptical about AI’s reliability and ethical implications.

⦁ Efficiency vs. Job Security: While AI promises increased efficiency, anxieties about job displacement are prevalent.

⦁ Innovation vs. Environmental Concerns: Consumers recognise AI’s innovative potential but are concerned about its environmental impact.

⦁ Progress vs. Responsibility: Consumers expect organisations to adopt AI responsibly, prioritising fairness, security, and accountability.

“This research highlights a clear gap in trust when it comes to AI adoption in APAC. Consumers recognise AI’s benefits but remain cautious about security risks, ethical use, and its long-term impact on jobs and society. Organisations must proactively address these concerns by embedding transparency, governance, and security into every AI-driven experience. Without trust, AI adoption will stall, limiting its potential to drive innovation and efficiency,” said Mohan Veloo, CTO for APCJ at F5.

The study also revealed a disconnect between personal and professional AI experiences. While many individuals experience productivity gains from AI in their personal lives, these benefits are not being fully realised in the workplace. This suggests a need for organisations to focus on better integrating AI into workflows and providing employees with the training and resources they need to use AI effectively in their jobs.

“The National Strategy for AI envisions India as a global AI leader with initiatives like the IndiaAI Mission and Aatmanirbhar Bharat driving self-reliance, ethical innovation, and inclusive growth,” said Pratik Shah, Managing Director for India & SAARC at F5. “With the widespread adoption of AI solutions across industries, our study highlights concern around bias, transparency, and data privacy that continue to erode consumer trust. Moreover, businesses often struggle aligning AI with real customer needs, constrained by fragmented data and overdependence on automation. Bridging these gaps through responsible leadership, integrated digital infrastructure, and human-centered design will be critical for unlocking AI’s full potential, not just as a driver of efficiency, but as a force for trusted, long-term transformation.”

Key findings from the report include:

⦁ Strong AI familiarity across Asia: AI awareness is high across all markets, with familiarity exceeding 89% and surpassing 90% in most regions. While China leads at 98%, India ranks the lowest with awareness level at 90%, despite its rapidly evolving digital ecosystem.

⦁ Enterprises are not yet unlocking AI’s full potential in the workplace: While 73% of consumers report increased personal productivity with AI, for India 84% professionals are seeing significant personal and professional productivity gains, indicating stronger
⦁ integration. Additionally, the professional landscape shows much lower gains, with 52% reporting no noticeable change in workplace efficiency. However, the report revealed that AI delivers the greatest productivity gains with consistent use—46.2% of professionals who use AI daily report significant improvements, highlighting the power of continuous interaction. Organisations must bridge this gap through better AI integration, training, and workflow design.

⦁ Rising trust concerns amid security risks: APAC has become a hotspot for fraud, with fraud rates having spiked significantly in Singapore (+207%), Thailand (+206%), and Indonesia (+201%) in 2024. In particular, AI-driven fraud is weakening consumer trust across the region; APAC saw a 194% increase in deepfake fraud and a 121% increase in identity fraud in 2024. As AI adoption grows, organizations must navigate the challenge of implementing robust security measures to build consumer trust while scaling AI solutions responsibly.

⦁ Job displacement concerns hinder AI acceptance, but vary across APAC: In APAC, concerns about losing one’s job to automation are hindering consumers’ acceptance of AI in the workplace. However, concerns about AI-driven job losses differ markedly across the region. India and Singapore show the highest levels of concern, with 97% of consumers in both markets being slightly to very concerned about AI displacing their jobs. This is in contrast with Japan, where attitudes are much more relaxed—only 57% of Japanese consumers are slightly concerned, and 30% are not concerned at all.

⦁ AI excels in speed, but trust still needs the human touch: APAC consumers recognise the efficiency gains that AI brings, with nearly half of consumers preferring AI for efficiency-driven tasks like customer support (47.9%) and personal shopping (45.6%). APAC consumers also have confidence in AI-powered insights, turning to AI for data-driven decisions in healthcare (40.1%) and financial advice (39.2%). However, AI falls short when it comes to emotional and sensory experiences; APAC consumers still prefer human interaction in food preparation (32.2%) and emotional support (26.6%), where empathy and personal touch matter.

⦁ AI’s environmental footprint raises sustainability concerns: AI’s rapid surge brings a pressing challenge—the need to balance innovation with AI’s growing energy demands. Growing AI adoption is projected to cause APAC’s data center capacity to more than double by 2028. As such, majorityof APAC consumers (53.8%) believe that while AI’s advantages are undeniable, efforts must be made to reduce its resource consumption. As a testimony to AI’s growth to drive innovation and rising energy demands, India leads with ~950MW capacity, followed by Japan (892MW), Australia (773MW), Singapore (718MW), and Korea (531MW). APAC organizations need to ensure that AI evolves responsibly, highlighting the region’s growing need for energy-efficient AI models, sustainable computing infrastructure, and greener data centers.