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The real AI race is for deployable talent, not models

Scaling the tech’s positive impact will require work redesign, applied learning, cross-sector collaboration

    • What is increasingly needed is AI bilingualism: the ability to understand AI’s capabilities, limitations and risks.
    • What is increasingly needed is AI bilingualism: the ability to understand AI’s capabilities, limitations and risks. PHOTO: BT FILE
    Published Thu, May 7, 2026 · 07:00 AM

    SINGAPORE is entering a new phase of its artificial intelligence journey, where the pressing question is how to deliver its benefits at scale.

    Our digital economy is worth S$128.1 billion, accounting for 18.6 per cent of gross domestic product. Growth is increasingly driven by digitalisation across sectors beyond just technology.

    Nearly three in four Singapore workers reported using AI tools at work, with small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) adoption rates tripling from 4.2 per cent to 14.5 per cent and non-SME adoption rates rising from 44 per cent to 62.5 per cent, based on the latest Singapore Digital Economy Report.