S’pore still plugged into global conversations on AI, despite lack of consensus on oversight

Even as countries have different views on how guard rails should be set around artificial intelligence (AI), Singapore’s approach has been to remain plugged into conversations, said Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo.

Some countries may not feel so comfortable about how AI governance is progressing, but that does not mean that Singapore disengages completely, said Mrs Teo, speaking to Singapore media from San Francisco via teleconference on Sept 29. “It will be many years before we land on a set of norms that we all agree are the right things to do,” she said.

Mrs Teo is in the US from Sept 24 to 30, during which she attended the UN High-level Multi-stakeholder Informal Meeting to Launch the Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence Governance in New York.

The meeting on Sept 25 brought together 193 member states for the first time to discuss how AI can be inclusive and accountable.

The member states unanimously agreed to establish a forum to bridge states, industry and civil society on AI oversight, as well as an independent 40-member panel to provide evidence-based assessments on AI’s opportunities, risks and impact.

Mrs Teo was responding to what took place at the UN Security Council meeting on Sept 24, when the US clashed with world leaders over how AI should be governed. While many nations pushed for new collaborative frameworks, the US rejected the role of the UN in centralised, global oversight.

Mrs Teo said AI governance is an area that is still being developed, and Singapore must stay connected to developments.

“We are consistent, we are steadfast, and we are engaged with our counterparts, including policymakers as well as the scientific and research community,” Mrs Teo said, adding that Singapore can move fast if legislation on AI is necessary, citing a law that the country put in place to ban deepfakes during Singapore’s general election, held in May.

Singapore is also hoping to contribute to the global AI conversation with the roll-out of a new repository of its digital journey.

The Singapore Digital Gateway (SGDG) hosts more than 30 resources that have been instrumental to Singapore’s own digital transformation, and was officially launched by Mrs Teo at the UN meeting in New York on Sept 25.

These include Singapore’s digital and AI strategies and blueprints, governance frameworks, guides, playbooks and open-source tools, which nations can freely access.

Mrs Teo said Singapore’s development in the digital domain is well regarded, and international counterparts have asked for insights on how the Republic has built up its digital infrastructure, enabled skills development and managed the digital divide.

“The Singapore Digital Gateway is a platform to help our international colleagues discover for themselves the areas of Singapore’s digital development they find useful and relevant, so they can think about their own priorities too,” said Mrs Teo.

In its initial phase, the SGDG will cover two core domains – AI and digital government – which are the building blocks of modern digital governance.

Under the AI domain, resources include Singapore’s National AI Strategy 2.0; the AI Verify testing framework for evaluating AI systems; and Project Moonshot, one of the world’s first comprehensive toolkits for testing large language AI models. Countries can also access the AI Playbook for Small States, developed jointly with Rwanda.

The digital government domain features Singapore’s Digital Government Blueprint with 14 key performance indicators, the Singpass digital identity system architecture, and open-source tools like FormSG for creating secure digital forms and Isomer for building government websites.

The Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) will progressively expand the SGDG to cover more areas such as cyber security, online safety, smart cities and digital economy.

The SGDG also offers courses and training for the workforce, and MDDI will work with international partners such as the World Bank and UN Development Programme to deliver these programmes.

Mr Mahesh Uttamchandani, the World Bank’s regional director for digital (East Asia and Pacific and South Asia regions), said that the resources on SGDG can be adapted for different nations without reinventing the wheel.

While in the US, Mrs Teo also held meetings at the global headquarters of tech companies to discuss online safety efforts.

This comes as Singapore is set to table the Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Bill in Parliament in the coming months.

The proposed new legislation will allow for the establishment of a dedicated agency, called the Online Safety Commission, to address online harms such as bullying, deepfakes and non-consensual sharing of intimate images.

Victims will be able to get recourse faster, as the agency will have the power to order online platforms to take down offensive content flagged by victims. They would also have the option to request perpetrators’ information to commence legal proceedings.

Mrs Teo said that the tech firms understand why Singapore is seeking to introduce such legislation, and have sought clarifications like the allowed response time when notified by the public about an incident. The tech firms appreciate that Singapore is not vague and overly expansive, she said.

“This does not mean that the requirements are light, or they do not obligate the companies to organise themselves better to respond to legal obligations and needs,” said Mrs Teo. “Rather, we do so in a manner that is measured and calibrated. Most of all, it has to be effective and produce the right outcomes for the victims we are trying to protect.”

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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