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Singapore’s President warns of AI’s risk to employment for fresh graduates

By Thomson Reuters Oct 11, 2026 | 11:01 PM

BANGKOK, Oct 12 (Reuters) – Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam said governments across ​the world should ‌address the pressing issue of how the emergence of artificial intelligence is dampening ‌jobs ​demand for ⁠fresh graduates.

“There is ⁠a particular problem that we have to address very soon… and ​that is that, the first rung in ⁠employment, your ⁠first job upon ​graduation, is now seeing less ​demand,” Shanmugaratnam told IMF ‌and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok on Monday.

“The evidence is ⁠already very clear, it’s clearest in the most AI-exposed ⁠sectors.”

He ‌said the world ⁠should also avoid ​a ‌situation where a “new divergence” ​forms ⁠between developing and advanced economies due to disruptions from AI.

(Reporting by Rae Wee; Editing by John ​Mair)