The APO held the Conference on AI 2.0 to Boost Productivity from 21 to 22 April 2026 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The face-to-face conference was hosted by the Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC) and focused on how agentic AI can be applied to improve productivity, innovation, competitiveness, and workforce readiness across APO member economies.

The conference benefited 130 participants from 18 APO member economies and six observers from two APO members with the support of six resource persons: one each from Japan, Poland, Thailand, and Vietnam and two from Malaysia. Sessions focused on productivity applications, responsible AI, data governance, implementation strategies, workforce transformation, and practical business cases. Resource persons also addressed the readiness gap between AI experimentation and measurable business transformation, emphasizing workflow redesign, continuous learning, psychological safety, and strategic leadership in managing autonomous agents.

Participants visited the global technology companies Alibaba Group and Microsoft to observe practical AI applications for operational efficiency, user experience, and customer value creation. Reflecting on the benefits of the conference, participants commented that it provided a comprehensive framework for understanding agentic AI and its implications for productivity.

As well as being a technological challenge, the adoption of agentic AI requires organizational transformation involving governance, operating models, and human readiness. Ultimately, the effectiveness of AI will depend not on the sophistication of technology but on the quality of human thinking and the strength of governance systems surrounding it.