Public good is Singapore's 'North Star' for its AI vision: Josephine Teo

Technology needs to be trusted before it can be regularly relied upon , and in the absence of a ready playbook on artificial intelligence (AI) safety, Singapore decided to be clear on its purpose — to improve people's lives and serve citizen well-being, said Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo.

This purpose led to Singapore choosing "AI for the public good, for Singapore and the world" as its vision statement while developing a governance framework,Teo said at the Tech and AI Forum at the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday (Sept 22).

"It was a reminder to ourselves not to disregard how profound the impact of AI would be on people — sometimes in a very good way, sometimes not so good."

As to why the Republic included the world in its public good vision, Teo said that Singapore recognises that solutions tried out in Singapore could potentially be scaled elsewhere, making it a more compelling purpose for rallying the community to work on things that mattered.

Setting public good as its North Star also means that the country is not only focused on AI adoption and its transformative effects in the private sector and industry, but also its use in delivery public services within government and in achieving worthy social causes.

Teo also reiterated that no country can hope to tackle the question of AI safety on its own.

This means working with like-minded partners that have invested in setting up AI safety institutes, finding meaning projects on which to collaborate, and being very watchful of use cases where risks are imminent, she said.

Asked how Singapore would navigate the strategic competition between the US and China, Teo pointed out that progress cannot be achieved by accessing a single platform or ecosystem.

"This approach is not sustainable and does not build resilience. Instead, we try to stay connected with diverse sources of technology and innovation."

Another aspect in cooperating for AI safety is to find ways to support international arrangements that can strengthen interoperability and connectivity, she added.

新加坡数码发展及新闻部长杨莉明表示，科技必须先赢得信任才能被广泛依赖，而由于目前还没有现成的人工智能（AI）安全指南，新加坡决定明确其目标——改善人民生活，服务公民福祉。

张志贤在周二（9月22日）于纽约举行的第81届联合国大会科技与人工智能论坛上表示，正是出于这一目的，新加坡在制定治理框架时选择了“人工智能造福公众，造福新加坡和世界”作为其愿景声明。

“这提醒我们，不要低估人工智能对人类的深远影响——有时是非常好的影响，有时则不然。”

至于为什么新加坡将世界纳入其公共利益愿景，张先生表示，新加坡认识到在新加坡尝试的解决方案有可能在其他地方推广，这使得团结社会共同致力于重要的事情成为更有说服力的目标。

将公共利益作为其北极星，也意味着该国不仅关注人工智能在私营部门和工业领域的应用及其变革性影响，还关注其在政府提供公共服务以及实现有价值的社会事业中的应用。

Teo还重申，任何国家都无法独自解决人工智能安全问题。

她表示，这意味着要与志同道合的合作伙伴携手合作，这些合作伙伴已经投资建立了人工智能安全机构，寻找有意义的合作项目，并密切关注那些风险迫在眉睫的使用案例。

当被问及新加坡将如何应对中美之间的战略竞争时，张志贤指出，通过进入单一平台或生态系统是无法取得进步的。

“这种方法不可持续，也无法增强韧性。相反，我们应该努力与各种技术和创新来源保持联系。”

她补充说，人工智能安全合作的另一个方面是找到支持国际安排的方法，以加强互操作性和连通性。