SINGAPORE \u2013 Singapore must continue to get the fundamentals right as it transitions to an artificial intelligence world, which means ensuring that AI is not used as a shortcut for learning in schools.<\/p>\n
At the same time, employers will need to be more deliberate in training and mentoring their junior hires,<\/span><\/a> and this is something Singapore wants companies to pay attention to, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are concerned that there may be that bottom rung of the career ladder that is broken, and young people may not get sufficient training, and we want companies to pay attention to this,\u201d he said at the DBS Asia Future Forward Conference on Oct 12.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, we are looking at whether there is a need for new programmes, new schemes.\u201d<\/p>\n The Republic will also adopt AI at a pace whereby the benefits will be broad-based, and which uplifts the lives of all Singaporeans, he stressed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want technology to translate into better lives for Singaporeans, so we are not trying to be an AI-driven society,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are trying to be a better society enabled by AI.\u201d<\/p>\n At a dialogue with DBS chief executive officer Tan Su Shan at\u00a0the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre, PM Wong said employers want workers who are AI literate, but who are also capable, able to think on their feet and exercise good judgment.<\/p>\n This is why students must continue to learn the basics such as maths and algebra. On this front, Singaporean students continue to do very well by international standards, he noted, citing metrics such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development\u2019s Programme for International Student Assessment rankings.<\/p>\n The bigger adjustment is at the workplace because new hires are often tasked with doing the routine work that AI will replace. Yet, there is some value and tacit learning that comes from doing such work, and firms must be careful not to automate away the learning that comes from it, said PM Wong.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are working with our tripartite partners on this, because we want employers to harness AI fully to get the productivity benefits,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we also want to make sure that employers pay attention to training and continue to nurture the next generation of industry leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n At the dialogue, Tan referenced the pledge PM Wong made at 2026\u2019s May Day Rally, where he said the Government will protect every worker, even if it may not be able to protect every job.<\/p>\n She asked if this meant Singapore was taking the harder road of going a bit slower on AI adoption so as not to leave anyone behind, given that \u201cit\u2019s easier to just say I\u2019ll fire thousands of workers and just replace them with AI\u201d.<\/p>\n PM Wong said Singapore has chosen the harder road, but he believes this would be the more sustainable path in the long run.<\/p>\n The alternative, where AI is allowed to accelerate at such a pace that it causes massive global unemployment, would result in a very strong backlash against technology, he said. Even now, some of this pushback can be seen in some countries, he noted.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think the world can continue like that,\u201d he said. \u201cIt will not be acceptable to many people around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n For Singapore, PM Wong said <\/b>a scenario where AI is deployed at scale over a period of a decade or so would <\/b>provide enough time for workers who are impacted to be reskilled and matched to new job opportunities.<\/p>\n For instance, the Government recognises that retrenchments will happen from time to time as companies automate and embrace technology.<\/p>\n \u201cBut do it properly \u2013 be fair to the workers,\u201d he said. \u201cGive the workers advance notification so that then the unions can come in, and they can help the workers retrain and get new jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n The Government will also help with more support programmes, he added. \u201cIf we all work in concert together, we can manage the transition and the impact of this very major technological shift.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what we are doing in Singapore, and hopefully that\u2019s what over time the global economy will be able to do for the rest of the world as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Prime Minister Lawrence Wong speaking at the DBS Asia Future Forward Conference at Suntec\u00a0Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre on Oct 12.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Amid the technological changes, PM Wong said Singapore\u2019s value proposition is to be an open system that different AI firms and partners from around the world can plug into.<\/p>\n This is the same approach that ASEAN will take as it strengthens its digital cooperation framework, he added.<\/p>\n PM Wong said the Digital Economy Framework Agreement that regional leaders are expected to sign at the upcoming ASEAN summit in Manila is a \u201cfirst but important step\u201d to harmonising the fragmented rules that businesses currently have to deal with.<\/p>\n The ultimate goal is to enable companies to scale their business more seamlessly across ASEAN and reduce the friction and costs of cross-border payments, but there is still a lot of work to be done, he added.<\/p>\n \u201cNext year, when Singapore takes on the chair of ASEAN, we will look at how we can give some priority to some of these initiatives,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n SINGAPORE \u2013 Singapore must continue to get the fundamentals right as it transitions to an artificial intelligence world, which means ensuring that AI is not…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":92440,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-92439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=92439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92439\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/92440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=92439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=92439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=92439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/picture><\/div>
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