Asia Pacific’s AI Growth Outpaces Its Governance — New SAS Study Warns of “Trust Dilemma” Across Banks and Enterprises

SAS, a global leader in data and AI, today unveiled new research that explores the use, impact and trustworthiness of AI. The IDC Data and AI Impact Report: The Trust Imperative, commissioned by SAS, found that IT and business leaders report having greater trust in generative AI than any other form of AI. It has found that nearly half (47%) of organisations in Asia Pacific face a “trust dilemma”— a gap between confidence in AI and the actual trustworthiness of these systems.

While Asia’s enterprises are among the fastest adopters of generative and agentic AI, governance, explainability, and data maturity are not keeping pace. This misalignment threatens to erode the region’s long-term AI ROI, particularly in regulated sectors such as banking, insurance, and government.

“Our research shows a contradiction: that forms of AI with humanlike interactivity and social familiarity seem to encourage the greatest trust, regardless of actual reliability or accuracy,” said Kathy Lange, Research Director of the AI and Automation Practice at IDC. “As AI providers, professionals and personal users, we must ask: GenAI is trusted, but is it always trustworthy? And are leaders applying the necessary guardrails and AI governance practices to this emerging technology?”

Regional Findings

• 47% of APAC organisations experience a gap between AI trust and system trustworthiness — slightly higher than the global average (46%).
• Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand score an average of 2.93 for AI trustworthiness and 3.30 for impact, showing strong results but clear room for improvement.)
• Australia and New Zealand lead the region with the highest trust and ROI correlation (3.01 trust; 3.53 impact).
• Banking sector in Asia Pacific ranks among the world’s most active AI adopters, with over 60% of banks citing product innovation and process efficiency as top AI goals, yet 44% lack mature data governance.
• Key barriers include non-optimised cloud data environments (49%) and shortages in AI-skilled professionals (41%).

 

Trust as the Next Competitive Advantage

The report highlights that organisations with high AI trustworthiness consistently achieve stronger business impact, while those relying on unproven systems risk inefficiencies and compliance gaps.

“Asia Pacific has emerged as one of the most dynamic AI markets globally, but speed without trust is a risk we can’t afford,” said Luca Spinelli, Managing Director ASEAN at SAS. “Our research shows that the most advanced organisations—those that embed data governance, model transparency, and ethical AI practices—are the ones achieving the highest returns.”

“For Asia’s financial institutions, trustworthy AI will define competitive differentiation,” added Luca. “Establishing solid governance frameworks isn’t just compliance—it’s the foundation for innovation, resilience, and customer trust.”

For more information, visit sas.com/ai-impact.

About the Global Survey

The research draws on a global survey of 2,375 respondents conducted across North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific. Participants included a balanced mix of IT professionals and line-of-business leaders, offering perspectives from both technology and business functions. It introduces new benchmarks such as the AI Trustworthy Index and the AI Impact Index to measure governance maturity and ROI.