Protecting workers before AI widens digital divide

WHILE artificial intelligence (AI) is all the rage these days, there is no need for Singapore to “rush headlong” into AI without first understanding its impact on workers.

Such was the message from Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at an SG60 conference on Jul 29. Amid fears of AI replacing jobs, especially entry-level ones, the prime minister’s nuanced take is refreshing and should offer some reassurance. He said pioneers of cutting-edge technologies do not necessarily become industry leaders, and that economies only reap the real benefits of a technology when there is broad-based adoption – the latter is what Singapore should pursue.

Yet, PM Wong also acknowledged concerns about jobs. Even if every new wave of technology over the millennia ends up killing some jobs and creating new ones, history may not guide our future, he said, given how much more powerful AI is. “I would say that even as we think about broad-based adoption of AI – which we have to do because we have no choice, we have to harness technology – we also have to think equally hard about applying technologies like AI in a meaningful and deliberate manner that creates jobs for Singaporeans,” he said.