Widespread adoption of AI is a national priority
Like other general-purpose technologies, it will be vital to achieve a high degree of diffusion.
Josephine Teo
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong recently announced the renaming of the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) to the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI).
This follows from a decisive move last year to merge MCI and the Smart Nation Digital Government Group. This change is a natural progression, reflecting the ministry’s role in leading the national digital agenda.
Today, our officers work in partnership with other agencies to negotiate digital economy agreements, build digital infrastructure and utilities, invest in research and development for the digital domain, grow workforce and enterprise digital capabilities, strengthen cybersecurity and online safety, and enhance digital inclusion for vulnerable groups. About half of our over 7,000 officers are also focused on developing government digital services.
Our progress in advancing digital developments across our economy, society and government has attracted international attention. In recent times, I have been asked by my international counterparts why Singapore considers artificial intelligence (AI) to be a strategic national priority. Some facts are always useful to set the stage.
In 1960, before Singapore became an independent country, our per capita gross domestic product (GDP) was about US$400. Today, it has grown 200 times to around US$80,000 (S$107,640).
For a mature economy like ours, sustaining wage growth for the broad middle is no easy task. Yet, over the last 10 years, our real median wage has continued to grow at around 2 per cent per annum. Sustaining such growth requires a collective effort to raise productivity, and AI, as a general-purpose technology, has the potential to do so across many settings.
Many practical applications needed
Like other general-purpose technologies and as past waves of technological breakthroughs like the internet and mobile show, it will be vital to achieve a high degree of diffusion.
The benefits of AI are fully realised through widespread adoption, far beyond adoption by firms at the frontier. We must not only have a few dazzling use cases, but also many practical applications that may not look all that impressive but bring tangible benefits to people and organisations that use them.
AI is a strategic national priority also because of the adjustments it will demand of our people and businesses. We acknowledge the risks of job displacements and business disruptions. We are determined to ensure there are support measures in place. Everyone who is willing will get help to adapt and have new opportunities to thrive.
Budding use cases
Internationally, there is keen interest in how the Singapore Government itself will use AI. With our government expenditure at about 18 per cent of our GDP, which is less than half of the OECD average, efficiency has long been a priority. The Government will apply AI, and more broadly, digital technologies, to be more efficient.
We have been very encouraged by the enthusiasm of government officers to use AI tools at the task level. For example, the Maritime Port Authority is now developing an AI solution to verify 12,000 ship insurance documents yearly for the renewal of statutory certificates of Singapore-flagged ships. This solution will eliminate 270 man-days of manual work each year, freeing up teams to work on other tasks.
This is just one task in a single agency. If we consider what AI can do to improve efficiencies for multiple tasks performed by multiple officers across multiple agencies, we can imagine how all these manpower savings will add up.
But efficiency is not our only goal. Effectiveness in delivering public service outcomes is equally important. AI can help in at least two aspects – precision and personalisation, so we are more targeted in problem-solving and meeting citizen needs.
Train services here have already moved from corrective maintenance to preventive maintenance, with predictive maintenance now the new opportunity, where AI and machine learning can be applied.
In some hospitals, dosages can already be varied and optimised for each patient, while teachers are experimenting with personalised learning plans.
Unlocking potential
To fulfil our aspirations in AI development, the Government will partner with the industry to fully unlock its transformative potential. Our starting point is that the best solutions and practices can come from anywhere and not only within Government. If the private sector can do some things better or has tools that work well, we are happy to collaborate.
We believe industry can contribute meaningfully to AI development in Singapore in several ways.
First, in building skills. We have set aside significant funding and articulated specific aims in growing the pool of AI creators, practitioners and users here. Companies like Google, Microsoft, Oracle and Amazon have also outlined ambitious plans to equip our local workforce with AI skills. We welcome others who can work with us to train and level up our workers.
Second, in improving capabilities and competitiveness through the use of AI. This includes establishing AI Centres of Excellence (CoE) within companies or across sectors. We are working with AI solution providers to give small and medium-sized enterprises an opportunity to test generative AI solutions to improve marketing, sales and customer engagement, through a sandbox launched by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Enterprise Singapore.
A third important area is in AI governance. We will need novel approaches to get the most out of AI innovations while managing the downside risks.
Take the example of AI Verify, our homegrown testing framework and software toolkit that was one of the first in the world to be introduced. In this project, IMDA worked with multinationals and start-ups alike on practical ways to validate the performance of AI systems. Last year, we set up the AI Verify Foundation to engage an even wider community of developers, practitioners and policymakers, to further develop the tool and promote its use.
I welcome industry partners to join us on this journey. By bringing together our complementary strengths, we can help keep Singapore in the global mindshare as one of the best places in the world for AI innovation, and our economy one of the most competitive.
- Josephine Teo is Minister for Communications and Information. This is an abridged version of her speech delivered at the Singapore Business Awards on May 16.
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