BFM 89.9

HIGHLIGHTS 
Podcast  >  Enterprise  >  Enterprise Explores  >  AI, Mass Job Loss & UBI? Why Education Needs an Overhaul

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


This and more than 60,000 other podcasts in your hand. Download the all new BFM mobile app.

Categories:  Corporatesmarketstechnologyeducation

Tags:  future of workartificial intelligencejob displacementuniversal basic incomeeducation reform





Play / Pause

Listen now : BBC World Service: Datshiane Navanayagam talks to two women whose life changing...

Today’s Shows



11:00 AM

Best of Enterprise

(REPEAT) Is Kwai Chai Hong preserving heritage, or curating it for a modern audience? Its Co-Founder, Zeen Chang discusses the fine line between community and commodity.

12:00 PM

Popcorn Culture

(REPEAT) The team reviews Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die & Wuthering Heights on this episode of Popcorn Culture!

1:00 PM

Cruise Control

(REPEAT) Are Malaysians switching to EVs at an acceptable rate? We unpack where we are in this week's episode.

2:00 PM

Matt-Splained

(REPEAT) Instead of talking about equitable societies, AI has once again decided we have to revert to the ‘world in peril’ format. Richard and Matt try to make sense of it all. Again.

3:00 PM

Earth Matters

(REPEAT) We speak with Lanuza Layon, Chairperson of the Kampung Sungai Kurau Village Development and Security Committee, and Sarah Amer, a Community Organiser from Gerimis Art Project, about the broader struggle for Orang Asli land rights in Malaysia.

4:00 PM

Bar None

(REPEAT) We discuss the latest changes made to BWF's tournaments and competitions, set to take place from 2027 onwards.

5:00 PM

BBC World Service

Datshiane Navanayagam talks to two women whose life changing illnesses led them to set up new businesses after they discovered high street clothes are uncomfortable and difficult to wear when you have restricted mobility or medical needs.