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Is Singapore prepared for a ‘rent-a-human’ world?
As developments in AI pick up pace, we must master the wider implications.
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Near term financial implications for corporations aside, AI’s impact and widening spread are unquestionable, says the writer.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Watching Prime Minister Lawence Wong deliver his Budget speech, with its major emphasis on Singapore embracing artificial intelligence, my mind returned to the Cisco AI Summit in San Francisco on Feb 3, where I caught a glimpse of what an AI future could look like – one in which the human role will be fundamentally redefined.
With concepts such as “rent-a-human” floated – the idea that machines will handle the bulk of cognitive labour, leaving humans to be “rented” only for niche tasks requiring soul or physical touch – Singapore’s AI Council, to be led by Mr Wong, has not a moment to lose.
