NDR 2025: Adding the AI spark – Q&M Dental, Tuas Port, GE Vernova show how it’s done
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong views productivity-focused AI gains as a ‘real game changer’
[SINGAPORE] The world has entered the artificial intelligence (AI) age, and like the eras of the computer and the Internet, AI will be yet another defining technology that will penetrate all economic activity and human life.
The real game changer lies in using AI to raise productivity and create new value through every part of the economy, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in his National Day Rally speech on Sunday (Aug 17).
And when used beyond simple applications in combination with other technologies, such as robotics and autonomous machines, AI can generate exponential benefits.
In his speech, PM Wong cited the examples of Tuas Port, GE Vernova and Q&M Dental as some of the companies using AI to revamp productivity. He also mentioned that Changi Airport is similarly looking to use AI to automate baggage handling and other airside operations.
Here’s how the first three companies are embracing AI.
Q&M Dental
Q&M Dental uses an AI-powered orthopantomogram (OPG) scanner to flag dental conditions when analysing X-rays.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
“They use AI to help their dentists diagnose problems by analysing the dental X-ray,” said PM Wong. “All this is done by AI in under a minute. Of course, the dentist still needs to check the results and decide on the best course of treatment. But AI makes the work better and faster.”
In 2018, Q&M Dental set up subsidiary EM2AI to work on AI projects aimed at improving service quality and standards for patients. The OPG scanning platform was one of such projects that received a developmental green light. It was approved by the Health Sciences Authority as a Class B medical device in 2018.
Thanks to AI, the X-ray assessment can be done within 15 to 20 seconds, a 60-times improvement from the 15 to 20 minutes when assessing manually.
SEE ALSO
Tuas Port
Tuas Port, which first opened in 2022, is set to be an automated, intelligent and sustainable port by the time it is fully completed in the 2040s. It is already the world’s largest fully automated port.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore is developing a next-generation vessel traffic management system, using AI and satellites to provide accurate, real-time situational awareness of the shipping traffic.
Within the port, automated electric yard cranes and guided vehicles are set to be used for the transport of containers between the yard and the wharf. These port operations will be managed remotely from the Tuas Port Control Centre.
Port operator PSA is also co-developing advanced automation and digitalisation solutions across multiple avenues for future growth and expansion as operations in Tuas Port scale up. AI will also be used to analyse data in service of enhancing port security, bolstering the port against cyberthreats and optimising logistics.
GE Vernova
American firm GE Vernova chose Singapore for its global turbine repair service centre, said PM Wong. The high-tech facility uses AI to detect anomalies in turbine components and to power robotic technologies, which then alerts human operators for a faster and more precise diagnosis.
The AI algorithms will also analyse images collected to build a picture of the condition of hot gas path components within turbines, giving an idea of how power producers around the world use their turbines.
“This is no ordinary workshop – it’s a high-tech facility. It uses AI to detect anomalies in turbine components – in a matter of minutes,” said PM Wong. “The system then alerts human operators, enabling more precise and in-depth diagnosis.”
Not a headlong rush to adopt AI
PM Wong sought to reassure Singaporeans that his government will not lose sight of keeping Singaporeans at the “centre of everything” it does.
“In the past, technological change created disruption, but also new opportunities – and people were able to upgrade to higher-skilled and better-paying jobs,” he said. “Many worry that this time, things will be different.”
The government will work closely with NTUC (National Trades Union Congress) and the unions, helping to redesign jobs and equip every worker with the necessary skills as AI is adopted, he said.
“We already see this in action at PSA. Crane operators were retrained to remotely supervise and manage multiple cranes and vehicles,” he added. “Ultimately, our economic strategy is about jobs, jobs and jobs – that is our No 1 priority.”
His statements follow a Morgan Stanley research paper last month which posited that innovation and productivity gains from AI tools could help the Republic sustain a 3 per cent gross domestic product growth rate.
A separate Salesforce study last month ranked Singapore second in AI readiness globally.
Copyright SPH Media. All rights reserved.
