S’pore seeks to be a better society enabled by AI, not an AI-driven one: PM Wong

Published Oct 12, 2026, 09:52 PM

Updated Oct 12, 2026, 09:52 PM

Singapore will adopt AI carefully so it improves lives, not just replaces jobs. PM Wong said the goal is “a better society enabled by AI”.

Schools and firms must protect learning and training. Students should keep basic skills like maths, while employers should mentor junior staff and not automate away useful work.

Singapore will manage AI’s impact over about a decade, with retraining and fair retrenchment support. It also wants ASEAN digital rules, including DEFA, to help firms grow across borders.

SINGAPORE - 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.

At the same, employers will need to be more deliberate in training and mentoring their junior hires, and this is something Singapore wants companies to pay attention to, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

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 said at the DBS Asia Future Forward Conference on Oct 12.

“We want technology to translate into better lives for Singaporeans, so we are not trying to be an AI-driven society,” he said. “We are trying to be a better society enabled by AI.”

At a dialogue session with DBS CEO Tan Su Shan at the 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 judgement.

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’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) ranking.

The bigger adjustment is at the workplace, because new hires are often tasked to do the routine work that AI will replace. Yet there’s 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.

“We are working with our tripartite partners on this, because we want employers to harness AI fully to get the productivity benefits,” he said. “But we also want to make sure that employers pay attention to training and continue to nurture the next generation of industry leaders.”

At the dialogue, Tan referenced the pledge PM Wong made at this year’s May Day Rally, where he said the Government will protect every worker, even if it may not be able to protect every job.

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 “it’s easier to just say I’ll fire thousands of workers and just replace them with AI”.

PM Wong said Singapore has chosen the harder road, but that he believed this would be the more sustainable path in the long run.

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 added.

“I don’t think the world can continue like that,” he said. “It will not be acceptable to many people around the world.”

For Singapore, PM Wong sketched out a scenario where AI is deployed at scale over a period of a decade or so, which would provide enough time for workers who are impacted to be reskilled and matched to new job opportunities.

For instance, the Government recognises that retrenchments will happen from time to time as companies automate and embrace technology.

“But do it properly - be fair to the workers,” he said. “Give the workers advance notification so that then the unions can come in and they can help the workers retrain and get new jobs.”

The Government will also help with more support programs, he added. “If we all work in concert together, we can manage the transition and the impact of this very major technological shift.”

He added: “That’s what we are doing in Singapore, and hopefully that’s what over time the global economy will be able to do for the rest of the world as well.”

Amid the technological changes, PM Wong said Singapore’s value proposition is to be an open system that different AI firms and partners from around the world can plug into.

This is the same approach that ASEAN will take as it strengthens its digital cooperation framework, he added.

PM Wong said the Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) that regional leaders are expected to sign at the upcoming ASEAN summit in Manila is a “first but important step” to harmonising the fragmented rules that businesses currently have to deal with.

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.

“Next year, when Singapore takes on the chair of ASEAN, we will look at how we can give some priority to some of these initiatives,” he said.

AI/artificial intelligence

发布于 2026 年 10 月 12 日晚上 9:52

更新于2026年10月12日晚上9:52

新加坡将谨慎地应用人工智能，使其改善人们的生活，而不仅仅是取代工作岗位。黄英贤总理表示，目标是“借助人工智能构建更美好的社会”。

学校和企业必须保护学习和培训。学生应该保持数学等基础技能，而雇主应该指导初级员工，而不是用自动化取代有用的工作。

新加坡将在未来十年左右的时间里应对人工智能带来的影响，提供再培训和公平的裁员支持。新加坡还希望东盟的数字化规则，包括《数字经济和金融法案》（DEFA），能够帮助企业实现跨境增长。

新加坡——新加坡在向人工智能世界过渡的过程中，必须继续做好基础工作，这意味着要确保人工智能不会被用作学校学习的捷径。

新加坡总理黄循财表示，与此同时，雇主需要更加重视对新员工的培训和指导，这也是新加坡希望企业关注的问题。

他在 10 月 12 日举行的星展银行亚洲未来展望大会上表示，新加坡共和国也将以惠及大众的速度采用人工智能，从而提升所有新加坡人的生活水平。

他说：“我们希望科技能够改善新加坡人的生活，所以我们并非要打造一个人工智能驱动的社会，而是要打造一个由人工智能赋能的更美好的社会。”

在新加坡新达城会展中心与星展银行首席执行官陈素珊举行的对话会上，黄英贤总理表示，雇主希望员工不仅具备人工智能素养，而且还要有能力、能够随机应变并做出良好判断。

因此，学生必须继续学习数学和代数等基础知识。他指出，在这方面，新加坡学生的表现一直非常出色，符合国际标准，并援引了经济合作与发展组织国际学生评估项目（PISA）排名等指标。

黄总理表示，更大的调整发生在工作场所，因为新员工通常会被安排去做那些人工智能将取代的日常工作。然而，这类工作本身也蕴含着一定的价值和隐性学习价值，企业必须谨慎，不要让自动化抹杀了这些学习成果。

他说：“我们正与三方合作伙伴共同努力，因为我们希望雇主充分利用人工智能来提高生产力。但我们也希望确保雇主重视培训，并继续培养下一代行业领袖。”

在对话中，陈先生提到了黄英贤总理在今年五一群众大会上作出的承诺，黄英贤表示，政府将保护每一位工人，即使可能无法保住每一个工作岗位。

她问道，这是否意味着新加坡正在采取更艰难的措施，放慢人工智能应用的步伐，以免落下任何人，因为“直接解雇成千上万的工人，然后用人工智能取代他们要容易得多”。

黄循财总理表示，新加坡选择了一条更艰难的道路，但他相信从长远来看，这将是一条更可持续的道路。

他表示，另一种选择是允许人工智能以如此快的速度发展，以至于造成全球大规模失业，这将导致人们对技术的强烈抵制。他还补充说，即使在现在，一些国家也已经出现了这种抵制情绪。

“我认为世界不能再这样下去了，”他说。“世界上许多人都无法接受这种情况。”

黄英贤总理为新加坡描绘了一个场景：人工智能将在十年左右的时间里大规模部署，这将为受影响的工人提供足够的时间进行技能再培训，并找到新的工作机会。

例如，政府认识到，随着公司实现自动化和采用新技术，裁员将不时发生。

“但要妥善处理——要公平对待工人，”他说。“提前通知工人，以便工会能够介入，帮助工人重新培训并找到新工作。”

他还补充说，政府也将提供更多支持项目。“如果我们齐心协力，就能应对这一重大技术变革带来的过渡和影响。”

他补充道：“这就是我们在新加坡正在做的事情，希望随着时间的推移，全球经济也能为世界其他地区做到这一点。”

黄循财总理表示，在技术变革的浪潮中，新加坡的价值主张是成为一个开放的系统，让来自世界各地的不同人工智能公司和合作伙伴都能接入其中。

他补充说，东盟在加强其数字合作框架时也将采取同样的做法。

黄英贤总理表示，区域领导人预计将在即将于马尼拉举行的东盟峰会上签署《数字经济框架协议》（DEFA），这是协调企业目前不得不应对的碎片化规则的“第一步，但也是重要的一步”。

他补充说，最终目标是让企业能够更顺畅地在东盟地区扩展业务，并减少跨境支付的摩擦和成本，但还有很多工作要做。

他说：“明年新加坡担任东盟轮值主席国时，我们将考虑如何优先推进其中一些倡议。”

人工智能