Singapore’s Bold Vision: Paving the Way to AI Excellence and Empowerment
Many of us have already incorporated AI in our everyday lives for convenience, thanks to platforms like ChatGPT. Apart from using AI to “assist” you for research and writing essays, how deep does your understanding of AI go?
Singapore has unveiled a renewed AI strategy plan designed to help the country to keep pace with this evolving technology.
Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced Singapore’s second National AI Strategy (NAIS 2.0) on 4 December at the Singapore Conference on AI (SCAI).
Mr Wong explains that this strategy aims to nurture talent and cultivate a thriving AI industry with world-class infrastructure and research capabilities, all in the service of the public. This marks an update to the first AI strategy that was launched in 2019.
He further stressed the need for Singapore to adopt a systematic approach to harness the benefits of AI while effectively managing potential challenges like job displacement and risks such as deepfakes, scams, cyberattacks, and misinformation.
In essence, AI will be the next big thing in Singapore.
Reason Behind the Renewed Strategy
The 2019 AI investment had led to 150 established teams working on research and development and 900 startups exploring new ideas with AI. There was even an introduction to AI within the education sector. Given these milestones, Mr Wong expressed the importance of leveraging AI’s capabilities to enhance our lives.
AI has the potential to empower businesses and individuals by creating new job opportunities and increasing overall value, thereby contributing to economic growth. However, it is not without its risks; misuse of AI could lead to threats such as cyberattacks and misinformation.
Hence, the updated strategy aims to build a responsible and trustworthy AI ecosystem that empowers citizens and businesses while fostering innovation and growth.
NAIS 2.0, with its vision of, “AI for the Public Good, for Singapore and the World”, focuses on two goals: “Excellence” which aims to direct AI towards addressing needs and challenges such as climate change and “Empowerment” which aims to encourage individuals, businesses and communities to use AI with confidence and trust to thrive in the AI-centric future.
The strategy is divided into three systems: Activity Drivers, People & Communities and Infrastructure & Environment.
The first system, Activity Drivers, encompasses industry, government, and research. This system includes several action plans such as strengthening the AI start-up ecosystem through the development of more accelerator programmes.
The second system, People & Communities, seeks to attract and develop more AI creators, foster confident AI users, and promote knowledge exchange within the AI community. DPM Wong states that over the next three to five years, Singapore aims to increase its AI practitioners such as data and machine-learning scientists and engineers to 15,000 by training locals and hiring from overseas.
Furthermore, Singapore plans to establish a dedicated physical place for AI, serving as an intellectual home for both local and international AI creators and practitioners. Yes, you read that correctly- there will be a building for them. I could almost imagine Shuri from Black Panther, thriving here. If you’re not a fan of Marvel and did not understand the reference… too bad.
Finally, the third system, Infrastructure & Environment includes creating a robust and conducive infrastructure with systems in place to provide a safe and trusted environment for innovation.
Of course, there are some people who are worried about AI. Watch this video to know more:
