Committee of Supply 2024 debate, Day 3: Tan Kiat How on uplifting enterprises and workers in the age of AI
Singapore aims to ensure its businesses and workers are ready for the age of artificial intelligence (AI) - the next phase in its digitalisation journey. Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information Tan Kiat How elaborated on this in Parliament on Friday (Mar 1). He said the Digital Enterprise Blueprint has three thrusts - empowering businesses to be smarter by using AI-powered digital solutions, supporting them to scale up faster by adopting integrated digital solutions and equipping them to be safer by improving cyber resilience. Some of these moves are already underway. A list of pre-approved digital solutions has been curated for broad-based adoption by SMEs and 20 per cent of these are already AI-enabled. Last year, more than 3,000 SMEs adopted and benefited from them, Mr Tan said. AI-enabled solutions will also be incorporated into Industry Digital Plans (IDPs). This has begun in the four IDPs that were launched or refreshed in 2023 for the legal, tourism, retail and security sectors. Steps are also being taken to address feedback by SMEs that they found themselves constrained by a lack of interoperability and scalability of digital solutions. To improve cybersecurity, MCI is doing more to help SMEs, working with sector leads to develop industry-specific guidelines, and going "upstream” to ensure that digital systems used by enterprises are safer. Mr Tan also spoke about developing technological capabilities in the local workforce. He said Singapore remains a key node in many tech companies’ global strategies as they expand in this region. Demand for tech talent in Singapore is still strong and will continue to grow, he said.
Singapore aims to ensure its businesses and workers are ready for the age of artificial intelligence (AI) - the next phase in its digitalisation journey. Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information Tan Kiat How elaborated on this in Parliament on Friday (Mar 1). He said the Digital Enterprise Blueprint has three thrusts - empowering businesses to be smarter by using AI-powered digital solutions, supporting them to scale up faster by adopting integrated digital solutions and equipping them to be safer by improving cyber resilience. Some of these moves are already underway. A list of pre-approved digital solutions has been curated for broad-based adoption by SMEs and 20 per cent of these are already AI-enabled. Last year, more than 3,000 SMEs adopted and benefited from them, Mr Tan said. AI-enabled solutions will also be incorporated into Industry Digital Plans (IDPs). This has begun in the four IDPs that were launched or refreshed in 2023 for the legal, tourism, retail and security sectors. Steps are also being taken to address feedback by SMEs that they found themselves constrained by a lack of interoperability and scalability of digital solutions. To improve cybersecurity, MCI is doing more to help SMEs, working with sector leads to develop industry-specific guidelines, and going "upstream” to ensure that digital systems used by enterprises are safer. Mr Tan also spoke about developing technological capabilities in the local workforce. He said Singapore remains a key node in many tech companies’ global strategies as they expand in this region. Demand for tech talent in Singapore is still strong and will continue to grow, he said.
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