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AI, Mass Job Loss & UBI? Why Education Needs an Overhaul

Dr Sivapalan Vivekarajah, Co-founder & Senior Partner, ScaleUp Malaysia Accelerator

30-Jun-25 12:00

AI, Mass Job Loss & UBI? Why Education Needs an Overhaul

The common narrative is that AI, like the internet before it, will ultimately create more jobs than it destroys. But what if that comparison is a dangerous delusion? Our guest today argues that AI is a fundamentally different force, a productivity tool designed to replace jobs on an unprecedented scale, and the impact is already here.

Dr. Sivapalan Vivekarajah, co-founder of ScaleUp Malaysia Accelerator, joins us to deliver a stark warning about the future of work. He explains why he believes white-collar, digital, and especially junior-level roles are at immediate risk, and why our education system is failing to prepare the next generation for this new reality.

We discuss:

  • Why AI is a job replacement tool, not job creation infrastructure.

  • The evidence of mass job displacement already happening in tech and finance.

  • Why junior-level and entry-level roles are the most vulnerable.

  • How our education system must fundamentally change to adapt.

  • The case for Universal Basic Income (UBI) as a necessary societal solution.

    For business leaders, educators, and policy markers trying to understand the profound shifts ahead, this is an urgent and essential conversation about preparing for an AI-driven future.

Produced by: Roshan Kanesan, Kishan Sivaswamy

Presented by: Roshan Kanesan


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Categories:  Corporatesmarketstechnologyeducation

Tags:  future of workartificial intelligencejob displacementuniversal basic incomeeducation reform





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