In 2019, the Singapore government announced a national blueprint that would direct the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to transform the economy. The National AI Strategy (NAIS) 1.0 aims to establish Singapore as a leader in developing and deploying scalable, impactful AI solutions in sectors of high value and relevance to citizens and businesses by 2030.
At present, the government reports that 150 teams have been working on research and development and over 900 start-ups.Exploring new ideas with AI, last December 2023, the government followed it up with version 2.0 with the central theme of “AI, for the public good for Singapore and the world.”
According to Lian Jye Su, Omdia’s chief analyst, the Singapore government has crafted an overall strategy around AI to build the country into a global hub for AI skillsets, talents, governance, and frameworks.
He posits the government is keen to implement and apply solutions that will enable Singapore “to stay ahead of the game and make them the place to test new AI ideas, to develop new AI solutions, and ultimately to become the leader in deployments of AI.”
Growth of AI ecosystem
Su observed some changes in the AI landscape in Singapore since the launch of NAIS 1.0 in 2019, especially with the rise and strong demand for Generative AI (GenAI) and machine learning.
“That has driven a lot of focus and energy around Research and Development or our investment around deployments,” the Omdia executive says.
He also noticed growth in the type of data available for AI and the emergence of new versions of GPU hardware used to train more powerful models. Su also observes an increase in the overall AI ecosystem as more start-ups develop updated training, deployment, and data governance.
Opportunities for C-suites
“With the emergence of GenAI, there is more focus on localisation and personalisation. Enterprises nowadays are looking at deploying solutions within the organisation. They need to look at it from a local standpoint,” Su explains.
He also explains the increasing focus on ensuring that AI models properly function by deploying the appropriate data, data governance, and infrastructure. Furthermore, he highlights the importance of the right software, hardware, cloud services, AI governance, and ethics framework.
CIO’s role
Su says CIOs should be involved in crafting architectures and road maps to enable the organisation to realise the potential of Singapore’s national strategy.
“The CIO needs to be almost fully committed to the entire process and transparent about all the processes within the organisation. Naturally, with the adoption of anything automated, regular employees will get quite nervous about how they function moving forward because there is always an assumption that AI or automation can replace people."
Lian Jye Su
He adds that it is vital for CIOs to be honest with themselves and their capabilities. He reminds them to reflect on whether they truly understand what they will deploy or want to follow the trend and adopt whatever is popular in the market.
“It is crucial because, ultimately, you will want your AI project to succeed,” he reminds CIOs.
Hub of innovation and investment
For Su, it is clear that the Singapore government has always been transparent and bold with its AI strategy since 2017. It has long planned to become a key player in the AI regulatory compliance landscape.
Su says any market must acknowledge the need for localisation of GenAI to succeed.
“Markets like China and South Korea have been very forefront in developing their natural language-based model. They have local companies investing a lot in acquiring local data in their models that can support native Chinese or native Korean languages. That will ensure that AI capability within the market will accelerate and be adopted across the board,” Omdia’s Su says.
Ever-evolving technology
As the AI landscape constantly evolves, Su recommends enterprises deploy a measured approach in rolling out their projects.
“There is no way for us to put a finger and say this is going to be how it looks like years from now because you do not quite know what will happen.”
Lian Jye Su
He is hopeful that with the guidance of the CIO and the support of stakeholders, enterprises can navigate around more productively and efficiently in the AI landscape.
Click on the podcast player to hear Su elaborate on what Singapore’s National AI strategy means for enterprises in Singapore:
- Briefly describe for us what is the overall aim of Singapore’s National AI strategy.
- The NAIS 1.0 was launched in 2019 to establish Singapore as a leader in developing and deploying scalable, impactful AI solutions in sectors of high value and relevance to our citizens and businesses by 2030. How have things changed since then?
- For business leaders, what are the opportunities this NAIS presents to the industry and the company?
- How active should the CIO be in crafting architectures and roadmaps that support/enable the organisation’s interpretation of the NAIS?
- What are the challenges that CIOs must raise to the C-suite and Board as it relates to rising to the call to support Singapore’s NAIS?
- Given the level of interest that business leaders in Asia/Singapore have on AI, what questions should the CIO be asking to (a) themselves, and (b) the board/C-suite that will help guide the AI deployment for the company?
