The Singapore government has invested about S$500 million in artificial intelligence (AI) research and development in the last five years.
This was part of a bigger effort that the government has put in place to harness AI for public good, said Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo at German software provider SAP’s first developer community conference in Singapore on Wednesday (Jun 14).
The government is looking to partner the private sector to bring the benefits of AI innovation to society.
Research from Boston Consulting Group has shown that even modest investments in AI can generate meaningful revenue growth for companies, while benefiting employees in terms of expanded skill sets and greater job satisfaction, said Teo.
She added: “This is provided their employers invest in their training and redesign jobs appropriately to promote career growth, because the potential for AI to disrupt the labour market is also very great.”
To that end, the government is running several initiatives with the private sector to nurture tech talent. One example is the Company-Led Training programme, which has trained and placed more than 2,600 individuals in AI and data analytics roles.
