Nimble, flexible, but with guard rails: DPM Gan lays out S’pore’s AI approach at Davos panel

SINGAPORE – Singapore’s approach towards greater artificial intelligence (AI) adoption is to be nimble and flexible, while ensuring that developments in the space take place within the limits of ethical guard rails, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said on Jan 21.

He made the point during a panel discussion at

the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland,

after the moderator, Bloomberg Television anchor Haslinda Amin, suggested that the Republic is “pretty relaxed” and has “no fixed regulation” when it comes to AI.

“I must correct that,” said DPM Gan, who is also Trade and Industry Minister.

Singapore has developed “quite an elaborate” code of conduct for how it should develop and deploy AI in an ethical way. It has worked with many countries in developing such guidelines, he noted, adding: “So I think we are quite serious about it.”

On regulation, he said the authorities apply a “very light touch” when new applications in AI technology are still being experimented with via a sandbox.

“You really don’t know how to regulate it before the technology is mature, but we (want to) keep a very close watch on the development of the technology within the sandbox,” DPM Gan added.

In other words, Singapore allows flexibility while making sure developments are within guidelines, he noted.

“So, just to correct the impression – nimble, flexible, but at the same time, we are very careful in providing guidance and guard rails to make sure they are doing the right thing,” he said.

Thailand ‘can be like Singapore’: Thai minister 

Earlier in the panel discussion about Asia’s opportunities in an AI-driven era, Thai Minister of Commerce Pichai Naripthaphan said his country plans to position itself as a “data centre embassy”. Nations concerned with data security are welcome to store their data, as some already do in the Middle East or South Asia.

“The good thing about Thailand is that everybody loves Thailand,” he added, listing China, the US, India and Israel as among the countries that do. “So we try to be like the Switzerland of Asean.”

He added that Thailand wants to be like Singapore in upskilling its workforce as it sets its sights on treating data centres like crude oil and AI like oil refineries – an analogy he borrowed from Microsoft-backed AI firm G42’s chief executive Peng Xiao.

“In the past, E=MC². Now, we are in a new world where E=I, or intelligence, as they say. So we believe that Thailand is really committed to the AI era. And I think we need to build people to be intelligent, so we can be like Singapore,” Mr Naripthaphan said.

Remarking that the latter is being “very humble” to have said this, DPM Gan said Thailand should be given credit for chairing

negotiations of the Digital Economy Framework Agreement (Defa)

within the 10-member Asean.

Noting that Defa would be the starting point in Asean members’ digitalisation journey – a necessary first step before AI integration – he added: “Thailand is leading the charge not only within Thailand, but also helping to bring the whole of Asean forward into digitalisation and eventually towards AI.”

Can Asean take lead?

Later, when asked if Asean could emerge as a global leader in this AI wave, given the region’s reputation as a “fast follower” instead, DPM Gan said it depends on how fast the world is prepared to embrace AI.

While the potential of AI is enormous, the key is whether countries can work together to fully take advantage of it, he noted.

“If countries work on their own, I think it will be much slower. That’s why within Asean, we are very keen to come together, to look at digitalisation, to see how AI can help us leapfrog,” he noted.

That said, Asean is not the only region looking at ways to use AI to leapfrog ahead of others, DPM Gan said.

“It’s a competition among all of us, but I hope that it is a positive competition (with) cooperation and collaboration, sharing of our experience and knowledge, so we can all progress together in an inclusive way.”

To leapfrog, Mr Naripthaphan said it is important for Thailand to accumulate the most data and attach it to more AI.

“Hopefully, we can bring Singapore along, because they have all the smart people there,” he added.

Fellow panellist Milton Cheng, global chair of international law firm Baker McKenzie, said that regardless of the country that contains the data, most of what AI will support should be seen as borderless.

What will really move things, he added, is if the region figures out a coordinated set of rules that is consistent and supports businesses to thrive, and gives assurance on data privacy and cyber-security concerns.

But Mr Cheng’s frank assessment is that the approach within Asean is still quite fragmented.

“Singapore has got its way, Thailand has its way, and (there are) others. Asean as a region, if there is coordination, hopefully under the Defa, can really bring a lot of it together, because different countries within Asean bring different things – you are the storage centre, you are the skilled services centre, so on and so forth,” he said.

“If Asean, through Defa, augmenting various other multilateral agreements, can bring it all together, I think there is a huge opportunity for it to be a leader going into the intelligence age.”

Role of companies

In another panel discussing the role of companies in the AI transition on Jan 22, DPM Gan said Singapore’s manufacturing sector is transforming by deploying technologies such as automation and AI.

The Republic wants to ensure the benefits of this transformation are equally shared by businesses and the workforce, he added.

Singapore has drawn up a host of policies and transformation maps for all sectors of the economy to encourage both big and small companies to use modern technologies to boost their productivity, he said.

However, businesses have a vital role to play. “Policies provide support and the necessary measures to allow that to happen. But the companies and the businesses must take the lead in the transformation of their manufacturing facilities,” he said.

At the same time, the Government is cognisant that automation and AI will have an impact on the workforce. “We pay a lot of attention in managing the workforce transformation,” DPM Gan said, adding that on top of the industry transformation maps, the Government has developed strategies for each of the sectors to ensure the workforce is well prepared for the future. 

He mentioned the SkillsFuture scheme that offers training and subsidies for lost income if workers must take unpaid leave to get a diploma or degree.