Creating value proposition crucial for Singaporeans in AI age: Chan Chun Sing

SINGAPORE – Creating a value proposition is most important for Singaporeans amid the increasing influence of artificial intelligence (AI), Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing said on Jan 9.

This begins with understanding the challenges that people face and the problems they want to solve, said Mr Chan, who was speaking at a dialogue involving 200 guests, mostly students from secondary schools and institutes of higher learning.

“Now this requires a deep understanding of the environment that we are in, which is why I always encourage all our students, all our young people and not so young people, to constantly look out to the world and understand what the world needs, what the world’s pain points are,” he added.

Mr Chan stressed that developing solutions requires both a disciplined approach and creativity to create a value proposition that others cannot provide.

“I don’t think we need to despair because there will always be room for the human creativity that is required,” he said.

The dialogue, titled The Future Of Innovation And Internationalisation – The Role Of Youth In A Changing World, was organised by charitable youth organisation Heartware Network. It featured veteran businessman Yao Hsiao Tung, who is the founder and executive chairman of local advanced manufacturing company Hi-P International.

Part of the youth organisation’s Heartware Leadership Series, the dialogue was held at the SingPost Auditorium in Paya Lebar.

During the dialogue, Mr Chan polled the audience on whether they thought that their future jobs will be replaced by AI. Most raised their hands to say no.

When asked why, a polytechnic student pursuing a social work course said she was quite confident because her field is highly specialised and requires a human touch.

Picking up on this, Mr Chan, who is also Coordinating Minister for Public Services, said that no matter what AI can do for now, there are a few areas where it may never fully replace humans. He cited “high touch” industries, such as social work, teaching and nursing.

“You use the tools, whether it’s AI or any other algorithm, to complement your work, to get rid of all the more mundane work for you to focus more time and attention on the higher value-add work, or the creativity work,” he said.

Another area is “high trust” industries, such as business, where a human presence is important for customers to feel confident in their dealings.

On the topic of attracting AI-driven companies to invest in Singapore, Mr Chan said the country must have its own value proposition so that jobs can be created for Singaporeans.

“For that to happen, there are many layers of things that we must do as a society, beyond just having the right skills to attract them here. We must have infrastructure, we must have reliable energy sources,” he said.

“We must have the rules and regulations that facilitate innovation and enterprises and many of these things built the entire ecosystem for us to, first and foremost, compete for the investment to be put in Singapore, for the jobs to be created in Singapore, for fellow Singaporeans to be able to earn our keep.”

Without such an ecosystem, even Singaporeans with good skills will not be able to find the jobs that they want in Singapore.

“There are many countries in the world where there are people who are highly educated, but they don’t necessarily have the chance to deploy their skills in their own country because the macro environment doesn’t allow those investments to be planted (there),” he added.