Reskilling and upskilling workers amid AI adoption the harder but more sustainable path: PM Wong

Technology, enabled by artificial intelligence (AI), must translate into better lives for Singaporeans, with AI serving as an enabler rather than the driving force, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Monday (Oct 12).

He was speaking at the DBS Asia Future Forward Conference with DBS chief executive officer Tan Su Shan, where he reiterated the Government's approach in navigating technological disruption, including risks associated with the technology; worker protection and global economic shifts.

Addressing concerns that rapid development of frontier AI models poses serious risks to safety and security if they are not appropriately managed and go "rogue", the prime minister said that Singapore's foremost priority in technology adoption is safety and security, calling it "non-negotiable".

When an AI agent "goes rogue", it means the AI has taken action beyond the task it was asked to perform. Both Anthropic and OpenAI , the maker of ChatGPT, said in July that their AI models had succeeded in acting on their own.

"We will never compromise safety. We will never compromise critical systems and sensitive information," he said.

A second area PM Wong highlighted was human responsibility, where accountability and critical decisions must remain in human hands.

Finally, technology cannot be pursued "at all costs" because it must have broad-based benefits, he said.

"We want AI and technology to benefit all businesses, to benefit our workers, and to uplift the lives of all Singaporeans...We are not doing technology at all costs."

On workers and human value

Turning to potential job displacement driven by automated tools and enterprise AI adoption, PM Wong stressed that cognitive offloading must not be allowed to set in.

This, he said, happens when routine and sometimes mundane work are replaced by AI agents, even though such work carries with them tacit learning opportunities.

"We 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," PM Wong added.

He referred to Singapore's approach of taking "harder road" — reskilling and upskilling every worker, saying it may be harder, but also more sustainable.

The easier route — of replacing workers with AI — may bring short-term gains, but it is not sustainable in the long run.

"Because (otherwise) people will get disenfranchised, there will be more dislocations, and at some point, there will be an even stronger backlash to AI and technology, as we are seeing in some parts of the world, even right now, added PM Wong.

Taking the "harder road", he pointed out, will help Singapore maintain the strong compact between companies, unions, workers and the Government.

"And we are not saying zero retrenchments," the prime minister stated.

"We are recognising that from time to time, if a company has to automate and embrace technology, some retrenchments may happen. But do it properly. Be fair to the workers, give the workers advance notification, so that then the unions can come in and they can help the workers retrain and get new jobs."

Global Guardrails and AI Safety

On global governance, PM Wong highlighted Singapore's support for international oversight of frontier AI models to mitigate risks ranging from cyber threats to a loss of control over advanced systems.

While acknowledging that a binding global framework may be realistic only over time, he advocated for immediate, practical steps such as independent governing boards and mandatory audit processes for frontier AI developers.

"There is no easy answer, but I think we should just keep taking practical steps forward to ensure that AI frontier development is safe, without stifling innovation," he said.

Facilitating businesses

Turning to the impact on businesses, PM Wong noted that businesses operating in the Asean region may find it frustrating to navigate the different rules, systems and requirements across the different countries.

But, this could change when the Asean Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) is signed — reducing barriers, facilitating data flows, and allowing more cross-border digital trends.

He pointed out that while it is not a "magic switch" that will resolve present day challenges overnight, it remains an important first step.

"(This) means enabling companies to be able to engage your customers across the region more seamlessly, to have cross-border payments with less friction, hopefully at lower cost, and to be able to scale your business more seamlessly across Asean. That is our ultimate goal," he said.

新加坡总理黄循财周一（10月12日）表示，人工智能（AI）赋能的技术必须转化为新加坡人更美好的生活，人工智能应作为赋能工具，而不是驱动力。

他与星展银行首席执行官陈素珊一同出席了星展亚洲未来展望大会，并在会上重申了政府应对技术变革的方针，包括与技术相关的风险、工人保护和全球经济变化。

针对人们担心快速发展的前沿人工智能模型如果管理不当而失控，会对安全构成严重风险，总理表示，新加坡在技术应用方面的首要任务是安全保障，并称其为“不容谈判的”。

当人工智能代理“失控”时，意味着它采取了超出其被要求执行的任务之外的行动。Anthropic 和 ChatGPT 的开发商 OpenAI 都曾在 7 月份表示，他们的人工智能模型已经成功地自主行动。

“我们绝不会拿安全冒险。我们绝不会拿关键系统和敏感信息冒险。”他说道。

黄总理强调的第二个领域是人的责任，即问责制和关键决策必须掌握在人手中。

他最后表示，不能“不惜一切代价”追求技术，因为它必须带来广泛的益处。

“我们希望人工智能和科技能够造福所有企业，造福我们的员工，提升所有新加坡人的生活……我们不会不惜一切代价发展科技。”

关于工人和人的价值

针对自动化工具和企业人工智能应用可能导致的就业岗位流失问题，黄循财总理强调，绝不能允许认知卸载现象发生。

他说，这种情况发生在人工智能代理取代例行且有时枯燥乏味的工作时，尽管这类工作蕴含着隐性学习机会。

黄总理补充说：“我们担心职业阶梯的最底层可能存在问题，年轻人可能无法获得足够的培训，我们希望企业重视这个问题。”

他提到了新加坡采取的“更艰难的道路”——对每个工人进行再培训和技能提升，并表示这可能更难，但也更可持续。

用人工智能取代工人这种更简单的方法或许能带来短期收益，但从长远来看是不可持续的。

黄总理补充说：“因为（否则）人们会失去权利，社会会更加动荡，而且在某种程度上，人们对人工智能和技术的抵制会更加强烈，就像我们现在在世界某些地区看到的那样。”

他指出，走这条“更艰难的道路”将有助于新加坡维持企业、工会、工人与政府之间牢固的契约关系。

“我们并不是说完全不裁员，”总理表示。

“我们认识到，如果一家公司必须实现自动化并采用新技术，那么裁员在所难免。但要妥善处理。要公平对待员工，提前通知员工，以便工会能够介入，帮助员工重新培训并找到新的工作。”

全球防护措施和人工智能安全

关于全球治理，黄英贤总理强调新加坡支持对前沿人工智能模型进行国际监督，以减轻从网络威胁到对先进系统失去控制等各种风险。

他承认，具有约束力的全球框架可能只有经过一段时间才能实现，但他主张立即采取切实可行的措施，例如设立独立的管理委员会，并对前沿人工智能开发者进行强制性审计。

“没有简单的答案，但我认为我们应该继续采取切实可行的措施，确保人工智能前沿发展安全，同时又不扼杀创新，”他说。

为企业提供便利

谈到对企业的影响，黄英贤总理指出，在东盟地区经营的企业可能会发现，要应对不同国家不同的规则、制度和要求会令人感到沮丧。

但是，随着东盟数字经济框架协议（DEFA）的签署，这种情况可能会发生改变——减少壁垒，促进数据流动，并允许更多跨境数字趋势的发展。

他指出，虽然这不是一个能在一夜之间解决当前挑战的“魔法开关”，但这仍然是重要的第一步。

“（这）意味着让企业能够更顺畅地与整个地区的客户互动，减少跨境支付的摩擦，并有望降低成本，从而更顺畅地在整个东盟地区扩展业务。这是我们的最终目标，”他说道。