Revolutionizing Singapore's Workforce: AI Initiatives Shaping the Future of Labor and Industry - Essay Sample

Introduction

The labour market in Singapore has been undergoing radical changes as the standards of living improve to get more people out of poverty. One of the consequences of such changes is the high labour cost that comes with improved standards of living (Lim, 2016). That is especially the case in the industry and manufacturing sector whose labour costs accounts for a significant portion of the production costs. As a result, businesses and communities have had to find alternative means of maintaining competitiveness, and one of the ways that they had to do that is through Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI Singapore (AISG), Implementation and Self-Assessment Guide for Organisations (“ISAGO”), Future of Manufacturing, nuTonomy and Evie.ai are some of the initiatives that seek to address the changes in the landscape for the workforce and employment in Singapore.

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AI Singapore (AISG)

AISG is an initiative by a public-private partnership. The leading organisations involved in the initiative are National Research Foundation (NRF), Smart Office and Digital Government Office (SNDGO), Economic Development Board (EDB), Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), SGInnovate and the Integrated Health Information Systems (IHiS). This initiative is designed to synergise, catalyse, and boost Singapore’s AI capabilities to power future digital economy (Lago & Trueman, 2019). The initiative would push Singapore towards becoming digitally ready and capitalise on solving the challenges of falling productivity and low workforce growth. Highly skilled labor is one of the factors that made Singapore attractive for international investments. The AISG is designed to maintain that aspect of Singapore’s labor force while increasing their productivity. It is meant to ensure Singapore doesn’t lag behind in the fourth industrial revolution and instead be a pioneer of the movement.

Implementation and Self-Assessment Guide for Organisations (“ISAGO”)

ISAGO is one of the initiatives designed by Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA)(IMDA, 2020). ISAGO is intended as a companion guide to the Model Framework (World Economic Forum, 2020). It has practical industry examples and practices that help businesses and communities in their implementation of AI. Through ISAGO, organisations can assess whether their AI governance practices are in with the Model Framework.

Future of Manufacturing (FoM)

FoM is an initiative by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), with close consultation of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and the Economic Development Board (EDB) (A*STAR, 2010). Based on the information from Lago and Trueman (2019), the initiative was designed to maintain Singapore’s competitiveness, in the manufacturing and technology innovation sectors so that it can become a location of choice for testing and deploying advanced groundbreaking technologies. The initiative would not only improve the efficiency of Singapore’s workforce, it will also lead to the full utilisation of existing technologies.

Conclusion

These initiatives have done well to include both public and private participation in the integration of AI into Singapore’s society. However, a few areas could use some improvement in order to have diversity and social impact. For one, all of these initiatives are overly focused on the enterprise side of the society. It is difficult for the average Singapore citizen to feel the direct impact of these initiatives unless they are entrepreneurs. Some of the initiatives should target solving social problems such as climate change or healthy living (Walsh, Evatt & de Witt, 2020). That way, the overall society can feel the benefits of AI.

References

A*STAR. (2020, February 25). A*STAR’S future of manufacturing initiative. Agency for Science, Technology and Research. https://www.a-star.edu.sg/About-A-STAR/science-and-engineering-research-council/about-a-star-future-of-manufacturing-initiative

IMDA. (2020, January 22). Artificial Intelligence. Infocomm Media Development Authority. https://www.imda.gov.sg/infocomm-media-landscape/SGDigital/tech-pillars/Artificial-

Intelligence Lago, C., & Trueman, C. (2019, March 12). How Singapore is using artificial intelligence. CIO. https://www.cio.com/article/3292616/how-singapore-is-using-artificial-intelligence.html#:~:text=Artificial%20intelligence%20has%20the%20potential,across%2011%20industries%20by%202035.

Lim, L. Y. (2016). Fifty years of development in the Singapore economy: An introductory review. In Singapore’s Economic Development: Retrospection and Reflections (pp. 1-15). https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/9789814723473_0001

Walsh, T., Evatt, A., & de Witt, C. S. (2020). Artificial Intelligence & Climate Change: Supplementary Impact Report. https://www.oxfordfoundry.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/learning-guide/201911/Artificial%20Intelligence%20%26%20Climate%20Change_%20Supplementary%20Impact%20Report.pdf

World Economic Forum. (, 2020). Companion to the Model AI Governance Framework – Implementation and Self-Assessment Guide for Organisations. http://go.gov.sg/ISAGO