Good morning to all of you.
Thank you to Ahmed and Hui Li, and the Microsoft team, for having all of us here this morning.
1. This is what I would deem a very significant occasion and a partnership to drive AI in Singapore
2. I think most people forget that AI is more than just technology. For all of you who are here this morning, if I tell you that AI will disrupt our work and lives, you will probably agree with me. But this has not really seeped into the consciousness of everyone in Singapore.
3. All of us can agree that AI will be disruptive. But we do not necessarily agree how it will disrupt, and how it can become more. Some think that the disruption is for the better, and others fear the disruption. They fear the job losses, and they fear that AI will create an even bigger divide between the have and have-nots. Indeed, this is not a debate that is only happening in Singapore, it is happening around the world. Some choose to embrace AI, while others choose to reject it.
4. Today, I will share three perspectives from Singapore.
5. First, we see AI as having great potential to disrupt. However, if we harness it well, and we manage it well, it will allow Singapore to overcome our resource, manpower and geographical constraints of old. It will allow us to transcend our constraints of old, to ride the next S-curve of economic growth.
6. On the other hand, if it is not well managed or harnessed, Singapore can be bypassed or surpassed by others, and it may even fracture our social compact. It is a double edged sword.
7. Hence, Singapore will spare no effort to be amongst the leading global nodes in AI research, applications and usage. When we say this, we do not mean it just from a technological perspective.
8. The second perspective I want to share this morning is, to achieve all the above, we will first need to organise ourselves well. We need to be a global leader in niche areas, as we are unlikely to lead in all areas. I daresay, with the exception of perhaps two or three economic superpowers, very few will be able to lead in most cases. The rest of us will have to pick our battles and ask ourselves: Which are the new niche areas that we can make a contribution in, not just locally, but globally? Therefore, we need our own unique propositions. Not just follow what others are doing, or what they are doing well.
9. Therefore, our research institutions must lead, and be a trusted place for global talent to congregate. This is one advantage that we can mirror, especially in a fragmenting world.
10. Our legal systems must progress in parallel to support progressive groups and structures.
11. It is not just about technology. Our financial systems and networks must also provide the mechanisms to mobilise the huge public and private capital required to support this endeavour.
12. Our education institutions must train the new generation of people that will enable this disruption to be harnessed and managed.
13. Now, beyond cutting-edge research, we must have a generation of savvy users, people who can apply the technologies not just at the local market or the regional market, but to the global markets. That is why the Ministry of Education (MOE) is committed to ensuring that our students have the foundations and exposure for them to seize tomorrow's opportunities.
14. Many ask if MOE will teach coding to every child. Our belief is slightly different. It is not coding that is fundamental. Some people may even say that with AI, less coding is needed. What is fundamental to the next generation will be the foundational skills in mathematics, computational thinking, logic and analytical thinking. This goes beyond coding. Coding is but the next supplementary level.
15. Beyond these thinking, computational and analytical skills, in order for us to be relevant and smart users of AI, our people must have the exposure to the world, with a deep understanding of the regional and international markets, for us apply AI well. Having the technology alone is not enough.
16. We must have the legal structures, we must have the financial organisation, and we must have international exposure. We must combine all these to bring out the power of AI, in service of our community and in service of the global economy.
17. Then the question is: How do we organise ourselves well? Today, I will introduce a new word. In Singapore, we are quite known for this tripartite relationship, between the government, the private sector, and the academia. But to harness AI well, we need one extra part, and we need a new word. We need a "quadri-partite" relationship.
18. Four parties. We need the government, we need the enterprises, we need the unions and the people, and we need the academia. These four must come together in order for us to succeed. Any one part doing well alone will be necessary, but insufficient for us to achieve what we want to achieve, because we are not just talking about technological adoption, or research. We are also talking about how we use and harness this technology to transform our society, but most importantly, to make sure that no Singaporeans will be left behind in this journey. That is why we need a "quadri-partite" relationship.
19. The government has its responsibilities and challenges set out for us. We have to make sure that we provide the legal structures, the regulatory frameworks, the public financial support and the talent development framework. Most importantly, we must create an environment whereby the most talented people in the world trust us enough to put their intellectual property here, and that Singapore will be one on the global nodes where talent aggregate and congregate. This is crucial in our quest to use AI well.
20. The academia must also lead the development of niche research areas. But the academia also has the responsibility to be the place where we can attract global talent. The question going forward will never be on how many people we have in Singapore, whether local or foreign, working on these projects. The question going forward is: What is the global talent network that we can look out for?
21. The size of our talent pool must never be defined by the number of people, local or foreign, working in Singapore. The size of our talent pool in this competition must be defined by our global talent pool, and we must be plugged in to that as a talent network. Our academia has the responsibility to take the lead in this.
22. Enterprises must also lead in their own research, in finding use cases, applying them, and then developing the market. This is why Microsoft is a good example of how enterprises can take the lead, not just in market development, but also research and partnering as many as possible to scale up the use cases of AI.
23. Last but not least, the individuals and the unions must also take ownership to help our people understand challenges and opportunities, and the need to upskill ourselves to seize these opportunities and overcome the challenges collectively, so that technology will help uplift us collectively, and not divide us. This is important: How we will harness technology, so that it will uplift all of us collectively.
24. In my conversations with some counterparts overseas, the mood is entirely different. People are not talking about how to adopt AI, or how to find new use cases to overcome this challenge. Some parts of the world are afraid of AI. They are talking about how to slow down the proliferation of AI because they are afraid of people losing their jobs, or of the divides AI may cause. We must not get into that situation. For us, it must be a collective endeavour to uplift everyone, rather than to let AI being a new source of division.
25. On that note, once again, I would like to thank the Microsoft team for partnering Singapore and our agencies in this very important endeavour.
26. I thank you for your support for individuals who want to acquire new knowledge and skills, together with NTUC Learning Hub.
27. I thank you for your support for enterprises to transform, in partnering Enterprise Singapore and SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG), to get many of our SMEs on board, so that no one needs to feel left behind.
28. I thank you for your research into the niche applications for the regional and global markets.
29. I thank you for helping Singapore to be part of a global network, to tap into the global talent pool available, to drive AI adoption forward.
30. And I thank you for your thought leadership in the regulatory frameworks, which is still a work in progress. We need those regulatory frameworks for governance and practical usage so that when people put their talent here, and when people put their ideas here, they know that this is not just about technological development, but it is a holistic ecosystem encompassing the regulatory, financial and development frameworks.
31. All of these are important ingredients of our success, and I just wanted to say a big thank you to all the partners here today.
32. We all have collective responsibility to not only take the technology forward, to not only take the use case forward, but also take our country, our society, forward collectively. This is so that we can harness the potential of the latest technology, including AI, and ride the next S-curve of economic growth, transcending our old constraints of geography, manpower or resources.
Thank you.