Over 70% of HK white-collar workers tap AI tools but leadership gap may stall "transformation"

A new survey by an international business consulting firm found more than two-thirds of Hong Kong's white-collar workers regularly use AI tools on the job.

But the survey also reveals slow AI adoption among the senior executives, which might stall "transformation."

Global business consulting firm McKinsey surveyed more than 4,500 working professionals and students between November and December last year.

Its result shows nearly 70 percent of white-collar workers tap AI tools every day.

Among them, 88 percent report productivity improvement with daily engagements topping 90 percent, indicating rapid mainstream integration of AI.

Executives, such as CEOs, however, are said to be lagging in AI adoption.

Only 14 percent are said to be using AI multiple times a day.

That's four to five times lower than mid- and junior-level staff.

With fewer than a quarter of respondents using AI to execute an entire workflow end-to-end, McKinsey says the leadership gap in AI adoption could become a bottleneck in the transformation efforts of companies.

The firm recommends that businesses step up AI training across all levels and establish robust cybersecurity frameworks to address concerns over data privacy and security.

JACKEY YU, Partner, McKinsey & Company: "AI can actually help to consolidate thousands of paperwork, etc, and pinpoint exactly of where the error is -- that can be helpful, right? Leaving the client interaction to the human being but doing the mundane and also the more tedious to AI."

The survey also shows that around 90 percent of university students across a spectrum of majors, are actively preparing for the AI-era by developing AI-related skills. Students say they are honing their abilities to use AI tools for not just crafting smart prompts but also developing their skills for innovation and creativity.

Among some 1,700 university students they interviewed, 73 percent also prefer careers where AI can play supportive roles.

ARTHUR SHEK, Managing Partner, McKinsey & Company's HK Office: "Mastery of AI skills is no longer optional, it's a basic requirement. Number two, think about how to use AI to augment your thinking -- not to replace your thinking AI could easily create a 60-point answer nowadays so how should you ensure that your answer is 80 or 90 points."