As many as 61 percent of Singapore data analysts prefer a human-in-the-loop approach to AI, the highest share among all regions, as data quality and governance challenges continue to limit organizations’ ability to act on AI-generated outputs.
AI-ready data and analytics company Alteryx revealed the figures on Tuesday, as part of its “2026 State of the Data Analyst: The Rise of Business Logic” research. The research, featuring 1,400 respondents, showed that just 1 percent of Singapore respondents are comfortable with AI operating fully autonomously, compared with a global average of 3 percent.
Regarding 175 Singapore data analysts and IT leaders in the research, Alteryx pointed out that 75 percent say strategic impact has grown over the past year as organizations accelerate AI adoption. As many as 66 percent agree that AI and agent-based systems are most productive when managed at the business level rather than by centralized teams.
On data quality, 46 percent of AI and analytics projects in Singapore that fail to meet their objectives are attributed primarily to data-related issues, rather than model or tooling issues. Singapore data analysts spend an average of five hours per week preparing and cleaning data and a further three hours correcting and validating AI-generated outputs.
The report identifies a growing gap between AI deployment and governance. As many as 37 percent of respondents cite data quality issues and 38 percent point to data access approvals as leading sources of friction when deploying AI. Besides, 46 percent identify unclear ownership and accountability for AI-driven decisions as a barrier to turning AI-generated insights into action.
Philip Madgwick, Regional Vice President for Asia at Alteryx, said many organizations in Singapore are still grappling with poor data quality, weak governance, and uncertainty over AI-generated outputs. Madgwick said what separates organizations that succeed from those that stall is whether the people closest to the business are defining and managing the business logic behind AI.
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