Companies should be more transparent with workers about AI plans: Jasmin Lau

Employers should not take "a quiet workforce for an agreeable workforce", says the senior minister of state for digital development and information.

Acting Minister for Manpower and Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Ms Jasmin Lau delivering the opening address at the official launch of SG AI Xchange on Sep 17, 2026. (Photo: MDDI)

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SINGAPORE: Companies should be more transparent with employees about how artificial intelligence could affect jobs, Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Jasmin Lau said on Thursday (Sep 17).

Speaking at the launch of SG AI Exchange, Ms Lau, who is also acting manpower minister, urged employers not to take "a quiet workforce for an agreeable workforce".

"The fact that they are quiet and not pushing back yet doesn't always mean that they are happy with where things are going," she said.

"They want to know what their business leaders are really thinking, whether you are already planning retrenchments and slowdown in hiring."

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less Ms Lau urged companies to "be a lot more transparent" with their workforce. Where automation is planned, employers should tell employees what could happen and what retraining may be required. Firms should also be open when a weaker business outlook is behind changes to their workforce, as employees may mistakenly link such transformation with AI. "We think that a lot more communication and transparency will help keep our workers and our companies together, and we hope that you play a part in it," Ms Lau said.

Ms Lau urged companies to "be a lot more transparent" with their workforce. Where automation is planned, employers should tell employees what could happen and what retraining may be required.

Firms should also be open when a weaker business outlook is behind changes to their workforce, as employees may mistakenly link such transformation with AI.

"We think that a lot more communication and transparency will help keep our workers and our companies together, and we hope that you play a part in it," Ms Lau said.

"SOME GROUNDSWELL" OF ANTI-AI SENTIMENT

Ms Lau also highlighted unease about AI among certain groups, noting that there is “some groundswell of workers and younger students who are somewhat anti-AI”.

“They fear how it will be taking away many of their jobs and aspirations,” she said.

Some also associate AI with environmental damage.

“These sentiments are not meant to be ignored," Ms Lau said.

"They are real sentiments and emotions, and there is a lot more we then need to do to ensure that we hold the Singapore society together, regardless whether you are an employer, a business leader, a worker, or a student who is generally anxious about the world that you are in today," she added.

Acknowledging that views differ on how AI should or should not be used and the pace of its adoption, Ms Lau said that the government recognises that "the world is changing" and wants AI to be adopted widely enough in Singapore to create "real value for our companies and good jobs for our workers".

She added that Singapore is “not blind in our pursuit for AI” and that the technology will be used "for good".

“We will do so if it means giving our workers better jobs, and we will do so if it means providing better services for our people.”

Earlier this year, Singapore set up a National AI Council chaired by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. Ms Lau said the country now has close to 100 AI Centres of Excellence across sectors ranging from finance to manufacturing.

"Within manufacturing alone, we are seeing companies in semiconductors, medtech, mobility, energy, and chemicals building up their AI capabilities," she added.

Singapore is also seeing growing investment from AI companies. Anthropic will open an office in Singapore in October, with the AI firm saying on Wednesday it will be hiring for a "range of roles".

Ms Lau noted Google Cloud opened its Singapore Engineering Centre this week, while Databricks has announced new initiatives to build AI skills locally, including pledging to invest more than US$350 million in Singapore over the next three years.

She said Singapore aims to be a place where companies can safely build, deploy and scale AI, while helping workers adapt and benefit from the changes brought about by the technology.

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数字发展和信息部高级国务部长表示，雇主不应该“为了讨人喜欢而选择沉默寡言的员工”。

人力部代部长兼数码发展及新闻部高级政务部长刘嘉敏女士于2026年9月17日在新加坡人工智能交流中心（SG AI Xchange）正式启动仪式上致开幕词。（图片：数码发展及新闻部）

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

新加坡：数码发展及新闻部高级政务部长刘嘉敏周四（9月17日）表示，公司应该更加透明地向员工说明人工智能可能对工作产生的影响。

在新加坡人工智能交流中心启动仪式上，同时也是人力部代理部长的刘女士敦促雇主不要“为了讨好员工而选择不爱说话的员工”。

“他们保持沉默，没有反抗，并不总是意味着他们对事情的发展方向感到满意，”她说。

“他们想知道企业领导者们的真实想法，是否已经在计划裁员和放缓招聘。”

CNA游戏猜词游戏：逐行破解单词；流行词游戏：用给定的字母组成单词；迷你数独：小巧的谜题，强大的脑力挑战；迷你填字游戏：小方格，大挑战；单词搜索：尽可能多地找出单词。显示更多 显示更少 刘女士敦促各公司在员工沟通方面“更加透明”。如果计划进行自动化，雇主应告知员工可能发生的情况以及可能需要的再培训。如果业务前景疲软导致员工队伍发生变化，公司也应坦诚相告，因为员工可能会误将此类变革与人工智能联系起来。刘女士表示：“我们认为，加强沟通和提高透明度将有助于维系员工和公司的团结，我们希望您能为此贡献一份力量。”

刘女士敦促各公司在员工方面“提高透明度”。如果计划进行自动化改造，雇主应该告知员工可能发生的情况以及可能需要的再培训。

如果企业调整员工队伍的背后原因是业务前景疲软，企业也应该坦诚相告，因为员工可能会误将这种变化与人工智能联系起来。

刘女士说：“我们认为，加强沟通和提高透明度将有助于维系员工和公司的团结，我们希望你们也能参与其中。”

反人工智能情绪“逐渐高涨”

刘女士还强调了某些群体对人工智能的不安，并指出“一些工人和年轻学生对人工智能抱有一定程度的反感”。

“他们担心这将夺走他们的许多工作和抱负，”她说。

有些人还将人工智能与环境破坏联系起来。

刘女士说：“这些情绪不应该被忽视。”

她补充说：“这些都是真实的情感和情绪，我们还有很多工作要做，以确保新加坡社会的团结，无论你是雇主、企业领导人、员工，还是对当今世界感到焦虑的学生。”

刘女士承认，对于人工智能应该或不应该如何使用以及其普及速度，各方观点不一。她表示，政府认识到“世界正在变化”，并希望人工智能在新加坡得到广泛应用，从而“为我们的企业创造真正的价值，为我们的工人创造良好的就业机会”。

她补充说，新加坡“在追求人工智能方面并非盲目”，这项技术将被用于“造福人类”。

“如果这意味着给我们的工人提供更好的工作，我们就会这样做；如果这意味着为我们的人民提供更好的服务，我们也会这样做。”

今年早些时候，新加坡成立了由总理黄循财担任主席的国家人工智能委员会。刘女士表示，新加坡目前拥有近100个人工智能卓越中心，涵盖从金融到制造业等各个领域。

她补充说：“仅在制造业领域，我们就看到半导体、医疗技术、移动出行、能源和化工等行业的公司都在增强其人工智能能力。”

新加坡也正吸引着越来越多的人工智能公司投资。Anthropic将于10月在新加坡开设办事处，这家人工智能公司周三表示，将招聘“一系列职位”。

刘女士指出，谷歌云本周开设了新加坡工程中心，而Databricks也宣布了在本地培养人工智能技能的新举措，包括承诺在未来三年内向新加坡投资超过3.5亿美元。

她表示，新加坡的目标是成为一个企业可以安全地构建、部署和扩展人工智能的地方，同时帮助员工适应并从这项技术带来的变化中受益。

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