As artificial intelligence (AI) evolves, governments must invest more in preparing their workers and cannot leave it to the market, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.<\/p>\n
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) economies can lead these efforts by reskilling and upskilling workers, redesigning jobs, and building trust in AI, so they are not caught on the backfoot, PM Wong said on Nov 1.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy doing so, we can ensure that the returns from AI investments will accrue not just to the owners of capital, but also to workers, and importantly to all our people,\u201d he said to leaders of the 21 economies around the Pacific Rim which make up the grouping.<\/p>\n
Singapore\u2019s focus is on the application and use of AI, he said.<\/p>\n
As a small, compact and digitally connected city state, it cannot on its own develop leading-edge AI foundation models. But it can use them to develop and make applications with the \u201cbiggest impact\u201d in areas like finance, logistics, healthcare and advanced manufacturing, PM Wong said.<\/p>\n
Singapore cannot do this work alone, and is keen to cooperate and exchange best practices with other Apec economies, he added.<\/p>\n
In\u00a0a session themed Preparing For A Future-ready Asia-Pacific, PM Wong said that AI will drive the next wave of growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will uplift productivity, and transform the way we work and live,\u201d he added, as he laid out ways to spearhead cooperation in harnessing the technology.<\/p>\n
AI is already transforming industries in Singapore, he said on the second day of the Apec Economic Leaders\u2019 Meeting, the highest-level meeting at the annual summit which ran from Oct 31 to Nov 1 in Gyeongju, South Korea.<\/p>\n \u201cSingapore looks forward to working with Apec economies to ensure that our societies benefit from AI,\u201d PM Lawrence Wong said<\/p>\n Photo: MDDI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Outlining what needs to be done to unlock the technology\u2019s potential, PM Wong said Apec economies must build up the capabilities of their workforces and prepare workers.<\/p>\n With every new wave of technology, some jobs will disappear and new jobs will be created, and historically, the net impact has been positive \u2013 meaning more net jobs have been created.<\/p>\n But there is no economic law that guarantees this will automatically happen, PM Wong said.<\/p>\n \u201cJust because it happened in the past doesn\u2019t mean it will also happen in the future. We cannot leave this to the market.\u201d<\/p>\n Apec economies also need to build trust in AI, he said.<\/p>\n That is why Singapore is playing an active role in global efforts to advance AI standards \u2013 so that there is an overall framework for innovation and users know that they are using responsibly developed systems, he added.<\/p>\n To do so, Singapore has set up the AI Verify Foundation to set such standards in partnership with the private sector. It now has more than 170 members including companies like Hitachi, Google and OpenAI, he noted.<\/p>\n The foundation was set up in 2023 to boost AI testing capabilities and assurance to meet the needs of companies and regulators globally.<\/p>\n Earlier in 2025, Singapore also convened leading experts to formulate the Singapore Consensus on Global AI Safety Research Priorities, a document aligning views on the development, assessment, and control of AI, he noted.<\/p>\n PM Wong also urged Apec economies to keep data corridors open, because data is what powers AI models.<\/p>\n Singapore supports the Apec Cross-Border Privacy Rules System, which facilitates the free flow of data with trust, in order to promote AI innovation, he said.<\/p>\n Trade pacts like the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement \u2013 which Singapore, Chile and New Zealand signed in 2020 \u2013 can also enable data flows.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/l_0RRatIy4M\/hqdefault.jpg\")
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