Ahead of the 8th Global Alternative Investment Conference (GAIC) in Seoul, BCC Global Media sat down with Michael van Zyl, Director of Japan and Korea Business Intelligence at Control Risks, to discuss artificial intelligence, geopolitical risk, and the shifting balance between technology and human judgment in global investing.
Control Risks is a security and strategic intelligence firm trusted by leading organisations worldwide. For over 50 years, it has led the way in specialist risk management, protecting what matters most to global organisations. It helps clients prevent, prepare for and respond to security threats affecting their people, assets and reputation, while enabling them to understand the interplay between international business, geopolitics, regulation and their stakeholder environment.
Van Zyl brings an unusually international perspective to that conversation. A South African by origin, he spent more than a decade in Shanghai during China’s technology boom before relocating to Tokyo, where he now leads Control Risks’ business intelligence operations covering Japan and South Korea. Prior to joining Control Risks, he served as Chief Compliance Officer at BCC.Global and previously worked as a financial journalist and editor in both China and South Africa.
Educated in finance and financial law at the University of London, with additional studies at the University of Oxford, van Zyl has built a career spanning journalism, compliance, investigations, and geopolitical advisory work. In his view, despite the explosive growth surrounding artificial intelligence, the core principles of investing remain remarkably unchanged.
“The technology may evolve,” he said, “but investors still need to understand who they are trusting.”
The following are edited excerpts from the conversation.
BCC Global Media: You have lived and worked across China, Japan, and the broader international business environment. How do you view the current AI investment boom from that perspective?
Michael van Zyl: China’s AI development model is fascinating because it is simultaneously state-driven and deeply consumer-facing. On the ground, AI and digital ecosystems became integrated into daily life extraordinarily quickly.
When I first arrived in China, cash was still dominant. Within a relatively short period, the country transitioned into an almost entirely mobile-based ecosystem. Payments, transportation, communication, shopping — everything became integrated into a smartphone. I witnessed that transformation from the QQ era through the rise of WeChat and the broader platform economy.
Japan is very different. AI certainly exists there, but it is far less visible in everyday consumer life. Japan remains a much more conservative and cash-oriented society. AI adoption is happening more upstream — in factories, robotics, industrial automation, and supply-chain optimization — rather than through consumer-facing applications.
That difference reflects not only technology adoption patterns, but also broader cultural and economic structures.
BCC Global Media: Do you believe Japan’s approach to AI could eventually accelerate?
Michael van Zyl: Yes, although Japan tends to move more cautiously than China. You can already see growing public interest. When I walk into bookstores in Tokyo, there are entire sections dedicated to AI, ChatGPT, and coding tools. Corporations are actively exploring implementation as well.
But Japan prioritizes reliability and stability over speed. That affects how technologies diffuse through society. In China, convenience drove rapid adoption. In Japan, institutional trust and operational stability matter more.
At the same time, Japan faces severe demographic and labor challenges. That creates a strong long-term incentive to invest in robotics, automation, and AI-driven productivity tools. The AI economy developing in Japan may look very different from China’s, but it could still become highly significant over time.
BCC Global Media: What types of AI-related risks are global investors most concerned about today?
Michael van Zyl: Supply-chain exposure and geopolitical risk are becoming increasingly central concerns. AI is not only about software models. It is deeply connected to semiconductors, energy infrastructure, microchips, cloud architecture, and strategic industrial supply chains.
What is interesting is that the fundamental nature of risk has not changed as much as people might think. Investors still need to ask very traditional questions. Can the founder be trusted? Does management actually possess the technical capability to execute? Are there governance concerns? Are there hidden political or regulatory risks?
That is where intelligence and due diligence continue to matter. Even in highly advanced technology sectors, many of the underlying investment risks remain fundamentally human.
BCC Global Media: Economic security has also become a major issue in Japan recently. How is that affecting the business environment?
Michael van Zyl: There has been a very noticeable shift. Japanese corporations and policymakers are far more focused today on supply-chain transparency, sanctions exposure, and geopolitical alignment than they were several years ago.
In AI and semiconductors especially, we are seeing the emergence of more strategically aligned ecosystems centered around the United States and Japan. Companies increasingly want to understand where their suppliers originate, how politically exposed their partners may be, and whether future disruptions could affect operations or investment returns.
The Japanese government is also investing heavily in domestic AI and semiconductor development. In the short term, some of these ecosystems may appear relatively closed. But over the longer term, they could create substantial downstream investment opportunities and industrial growth.
BCC Global Media: As AI becomes more sophisticated, does traditional human intelligence gathering still matter?
Michael van Zyl: I would argue it becomes even more important. Investors cannot evaluate AI companies based purely on technology. Ultimately, they still need to understand the people behind the business — their credibility, incentives, operational history, and ability to execute.
AI can assist with data analysis and information gathering, but investment decisions ultimately remain trust-based decisions. That is why business intelligence, investigations, and expert networks continue to play such an important role.
In many ways, AI is making the world more complex rather than simpler. Technology risk, geopolitical risk, regulatory risk, and supply-chain risk are becoming increasingly interconnected.
At the end of the day, investing still comes down to human judgment, trust, and risk management. Those fundamentals do not change.