MAS taps Google Cloud for generative AI tools in regulatory work

THE Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is set to utilise Google Cloud’s generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools for its regulatory efforts.

The central bank inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Google Cloud at the Google Cloud Singapore Summit, which was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, on Wednesday (May 31).

Under the partnership, MAS’ data scientists will be able to leverage and customise Google’s foundation models to address use cases such as risk identification, industry development and trend monitoring, as well as environmental, social, and governance analysis.

“This collaboration allows us to explore potential use cases in our functions and operations that could harness generative AI, while prioritising information security as well as data and AI model governance. Through this, we hope to inspire greater adoption of responsible generative AI in the financial sector,” said Vincent Loy, assistant managing director at MAS.

Karan Bajwa, vice-president of Google Cloud Asia-Pacific, similarly noted that responsibility, explainability, reducing bias and security are the company’s foundational principles in its approach to AI.

Google Cloud on Wednesday launched a platform for Singapore’s public sector to build and use generative AI applications, in partnership with the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office, at the summit.

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The platform includes a central repository of pre-trained generative models that government agencies can customise to their needs. The models can be used for various tasks, such as summarising and translating text in multiple languages and generating software code.

The tech giant is also partnering GovTech to design and run training programmes to help government agencies develop their own data science and AI expertise. These programmes, an expansion of Google Cloud’s existing upskilling initiatives, will be offered to 150,000 public officers across 16 ministries and over 50 statutory boards.

Beyond the public sector, Google Cloud will also be partnering the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) to support the development of responsible AI technologies for citizens and businesses.

The two parties signed a MOU at Wednesday’s event. Areas of collaboration include a trusted marketplace, managed by MCI and hosted on Google Cloud, for the private sector to access Google’s AI solutions and foundation models.

The partnership also focuses on building a sustainable pipeline of talent with AI competencies. MCI and Google Cloud will launch skilling initiatives for different levels, including education programmes for students to pursue careers in AI, industry training to upskill professional developers, as well as further research opportunities for data scientists to develop and scale in-demand AI solutions.