How next-gen business owners can actually make AI work, according to OpenAI and DBS

The bank also built an “AI economic value” framework, running every new use case as a test group against a control group to track the real gain in cost, revenue or productivity, a discipline disclosed in DBS’ annual report since 2022. One example he gave was how the bank used an AI model that spotted customers in India using high-interest credit cards who’d be better off on an instalment plan with lower interest rates, and nudged them toward it—a move that doubled the business. 

But metrics cut both ways, he warned, adding that you have to be clear on exactly what behaviour you’re rewarding and make sure it’s being measured.

Read more: Tatler House Dialogue: Building family businesses that last with DBS Treasures Private Client

Jay’s advice for leaders without a dedicated AI team echoed a theme he returned to all evening: start with the business outcome, not the technology. 

Companies that tally up scattered productivity gains—a 5 per cent lift here, 20 per cent there—struggle to show real return on investment (ROI). Businesses that start with a concrete target, such as cutting a production cycle by two months, back into the right AI investment far more easily. 

He pointed to Singapore’s hawker centres as proof of how accessible the technology has become, describing stallholders tracking ingredient costs and analysing customer preferences with more sophistication than plenty of large enterprises manage.

If capability was the story four years ago, Jay said, safety is what now separates companies that scale AI from those that get burned. 

OpenAI runs extensive “red teaming” to stress-test its models and build guardrails before release—protection that vanishes once a company downloads an open-source model stripped of its safeguards to chase performance. 

His advice: treat the choice of AI partner as seriously as any other vendor decision, and ask difficult questions about the safety testing behind whatever platform you adopt before you do.

The evening’s most vivid illustration came after the panel, when OpenAI engineer Tyler Ryu built a live business pitch using ChatGPT Work, sourcing costs, drafting a spreadsheet and building an investor deck for a fictional luggage-tag start-up.

Closing the evening, Soh Wee Li, head of Corporate Banking at DBS Singapore, urged the room to treat AI adoption as urgent rather than optional, pointing guests to DBS’ Spark GenAI Programme for tailored guidance.

Guests then moved to a networking session with food by Tim’s Fine Catering, a sake tasting by Dassai and a live leather-stamping station by Bynd Artisan, where guests personalised their own take-home tags.

Click through the gallery for more event photos.

NOW READ

Live to Lead: DBS Treasures Private Client marks 15 years of leadership and shaping the future of wealth

The marathon mindset: DBS Private Bank’s Joseph Poon on life, leadership and “everyday compounding”

Legacy Building: Ya Kun Kaya Toast third-generation leader Jesher Loi on stewarding the Singaporean icon into the future