AI Won’t Kill Jobs — It Will Transform Them
AI, Jobs, and the Future of Hong Kong’s Workforce
Not surprisingly, 70% of Hong Kong’s white-collar workers already use AI daily, yet only 3% of companies have fully integrated it. That gap tells us everything about where we are in this transformation. Employment law expert Kathryn Weaver joins host Ajay Shamdasani to unpack what AI actually means for Hong Kong’s workforce, and the picture is far more nuanced than the usual doomsday headlines suggest.
What does it really mean when graduate placements have dropped 60% since 2022, while the northern metropolis could simultaneously create 500,000 to 650,000 new roles? Kathryn argues that AI reshapes work rather than simply erasing it, reshaping how professionals operate rather than making them obsolete. Human judgment, creativity, and relationship-building remain irreplaceable, even as routine tasks get automated.
Because Hong Kong faces unique pressures including an aging population and a predicted 130,000 job shortage by 2028, understanding AI’s real role matters more than ever. The government’s AI Plus strategy and a new 30,000 youth employment internship scheme signal serious institutional engagement with these challenges.
Tune in to hear how organizations are navigating this transition with transparency, reskilling, and genuine optimism about AI as a capacity dividend.
Our Guest
Kathryn Weaver
Kathryn Weaver heads up the Asia Pacific employment practice at Seyfarth Shaw, an AmLaw 100 labour and employment-focused international law firm. She is dual-qualified (Hong Kong and England & Wales) and has extensive experience of advising multi-national employers in the Asia Pacific region on international employment law matters. Her work spans both contentious and non-contentious matters, such as implementing partnership programme and equity schemes, coordinating litigation, carrying out contract, policy and compliance reviews, advising on restructuring and terminations, and negotiating settlements.
She is regularly called on to speak at legal and HR conferences and events in the region on topical employment law matters. She has spoken on panels addressing AI in the workplace at the In-House Community Congress, the IEL Asia-Pacific Employment Summit, the IBA Conference, and KPMG Hong Kong’s Employment Outlook 2026.
Kathryn is highly regarded in the legal directories and has been recognised as a Leading Partner, Labour and Employment (Hong Kong) in the Legal 500 (Legalese Ltd.) (2020-2025); recognised as a ranked practitioner, Employment: Hong Kong-based (International Firms) in Chambers Greater China (2020-2025); recommended by Doyle’s Guide as a Preeminent Hong Kong employment lawyer (2024-2025); recognised by Lexology Index (previously Who’s Who Legal) for Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR – Labour Employment & Benefits (Law Business Research Ltd.) (2020-2025); and recognised by the International Employment Lawyer as a Global Elite (2024-2025).
In her spare time, Kathryn sits on the Boards of the British Chamber of Commerce, Help for Domestic Workers and Hong Kong Legal Walk Limited.
Our Host
Ajay Shamdasani
Ajay Shamdasani is a veteran writer, editor and researcher based in Hong Kong. He holds an AB in history and government from Ripon College, JD and MIPCT degrees from the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce Law School, and an LLM in financial regulation from the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Chicago-Kent College of Law.
His 15-year long career as a financial and legal journalist began as deputy editor of A Plus magazine – the journal of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants. From there, he assumed the helm of Macau Business magazine as its editor-in-chief, and later, joined Asialaw magazine as its deputy editor.
More recently, he spent close to seven years as a senior correspondent with Thomson Reuters’ subscription-based trade-wire service Regulatory Intelligence/Compliance Complete (previously called Complinet) in Hong Kong. While there, he covered regulatory developments in that city, as well as Singapore, India and South Korea.
