Singapore must put people at the heart of how it uses technology, stay open and connected to global developments, and ensure good governance in the use of emerging technologies, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat yesterday.
These are the key principles that should underpin Singapore's quest for better innovation, he said in announcing a national artificial intelligence (AI) strategy.
Speaking at the Singapore FinTech Festival at the Singapore Expo, Mr Heng said all technology, no matter how sophisticated, has to be applied with the user in mind.
This mindset must be complemented by ensuring workers are skilled in the use of new technology.
"Otherwise, we will end up with exclusive products that only the highly educated can access, or (only) the wealthy can afford," he added.
Mr Heng said Singapore has invested significantly in developing its people.
For example, the Republic aims to train 25,000 professionals in basic AI coding and implementation by 2025 to grow the talent pool that can support the newly announced national AI strategy.
Singapore must also go beyond learning in isolation to actively collaborating across society and national borders, Mr Heng said.
A key part of this dynamic is the collaboration between the research community, industry and the Government in what is known as the triple helix model of innovation.
To this end, a platform to catalyse AI adoption by smaller companies was launched yesterday.
Called AI Makerspace, the platform is offered by AI Singapore and provides pre-built AI tools, as well as clinics and consultations with experts.
Singapore is committed to working with researchers and innovators from around the world through a range of open innovation initiatives.
But for innovation to take off, good governance is needed to provide trust and confidence.
"Engineers tend to ask 'Can it be done?', while entrepreneurs and venture capitalists ask 'Can it make money?'," said Mr Heng.
"We now have to ask two more questions: 'Should it be done?' and 'How should it be done?'"
He singled out cyber security and AI as two emerging areas where good governance is critical.
"There is a particular urgency to do this for cyberspace, as cyber attacks on our critical infrastructure... have become both highly likely and highly damaging," he said.
Singapore was among the Asean countries that agreed to set up a working-level committee to ensure responsible state behaviour in cyberspace last month.
In January, Singapore also released a framework, believed to be Asia's first, on how AI can be ethically and responsibly used.
