Asia-Pacific (APAC) leads the world in AI adoption. However, the skill shortage remains the primary barrier to true AI transformation, according to a new study by commercial real estate services firm JLL.
The survey, conducted between January and April 2026, captured perspectives from 2,200 C-suite executives and corporate real estate leaders from 21 countries. It revealed that 52% of APAC respondents are adopting AI across technology management, 51% across portfolio optimization, and 47% across commercial real estate strategy development, positioning the region as the global leader in AI adoption.
AI skill shortage
Despite this progress, skills gaps in AI, analytics, and emerging technologies are the top barrier to commercial real estate value creation, a challenge that’s particularly pronounced in APAC with 42% of respondents citing the AI skills gap as their primary constraint, the highest rate globally. Furthermore, 49% of APAC organizations anticipate that talent scarcity driven by AI reskilling demands will define their workforce landscape over the next three to five years, again the highest proportion of any region.
These findings align with results from a Q4 2025 study by insurance broker Aon. The study surveyed over 2,300 board directors and senior business and people leaders from organizations worldwide, and found that 74% of APAC organizations had either implemented or are currently testing AI within their operations, highlighting widespread adoption of AI.
However, organizations are struggling to recruit talent to support their AI initiatives. Only 24% of global respondents expressed confidence in their ability to recruit and retain enough talent with AI skills, a proportion that’s even lower in APAC at 21%, underscoring a significant talent challenge. This shortfall represents a structural barrier to realizing the returns that organizations are pursuing through AI investment.
Similarly, ManpowerGroup’s 2026 Global Talent Shortage Survey, which surveyed over 39,000 employers across 41 countries, including 12,193 in the APAC and Middle Eastern markets, revealed that AI skills have emerged as among the most challenging competencies to find in these regions, led by AI model and application development (27%) and AI literacy (26%).
While real estate stakeholders acknowledge the necessity of advanced technology to achieve productivity goals, they also recognize that technology introduces new risks. In the APAC region, concerns about technology and AI disruption have become the top portfolio risks, with 44% of respondents identifying it as the leading risk, the highest rate among all regions.
Rising cyber and AI risks
Allianz’s Risk Barometer 2026, released in February, echoes these findings, revealing that cyber incidents and AI are now the top business risks.
In 2026, cyber incidents continue to be the global top risk for the fifth consecutive year, with its highest-ever score of 42% among the respondents polled. It ranks as the main corporate concern in every region.
AI, meanwhile, has made a significant leap into the top tier of global business concerns, moving to second place in 2026 with a score of 32% up from 10th place in 2025. This represents the largest increase in the 2026 ranking.
As AI adoption accelerates and becomes more deeply integrated into core business operations, the associated risks are intensifying.
Interpol’s 2025/2026 Asia and South Pacific Cyberthreat Assessment Report, released in June, reveals concerning trends among member countries in the region, including a rapid and diverse increase in incidents involving AI-driven cyber-enabled crimes and the misuse of deepfake technology.
Deepfake videos are now being used to impersonate public figures, celebrities, and business executives in fraudulent investment campaigns. This deception aims to trick the public into transferring money or disclosing sensitive information.
Beyond financial fraud, deepfake technology is also being misused for sexual exploitation, with manipulated videos and images used to harass, blackmail, or coerce victims. In parallel, AI-assisted content generation is facilitating the spread of disinformation and defamatory material across social media platforms, impacting public trust, inciting social tensions, and even defaming political leaders or public officials in several jurisdictions. Finally, generative AI (genAI) is employed to create malware capable of overwriting or destroying digital files, adding new layers of automation and sophistication to cyberattacks.
According to iProov’s Threat Intelligence Report, discussions about deepfakes on cybercriminal forums and Telegram channels popular among Southeast Asian threat actors increased by a staggering 600% from February to June 2024.
Between 2022 and 2023, deepfake-related crimes rose significantly in APAC. Identity verification startup Sumsub reported a staggering 1,530% increase in such crimes during this period.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by fabrikasimf via Magnific