Singapore launches foundation to promote responsible AI

A NEW Singapore-based foundation will promote the development of tools for responsible use of AI, and boost AI testing capabilities to meet the needs of companies and regulators globally.

The organisation, AI Verify Foundation, was launched by Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo at the Asia Tech x Singapore conference on Wednesday (Jun 7). 

“We believe in using AI in a responsible way and deploying it for good, but we will also strive to shield society from the most serious AI risks... The government cannot do it alone,” she said at the conference.

“The private sector and the research ecosystem have rich expertise. They can and must be encouraged to participate meaningfully to advance AI for the public good.”

The foundation kicks off with seven premier members – the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), Temasek’s AI centre of excellence Aicadium, IBM, Microsoft, Google, Red Hat and Salesforce.

It also has more than 60 general members such as Adobe, DBS, Meta, SenseTime and Singapore Airlines.

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The foundation is centred on AI Verify, an AI governance testing framework and software toolkit first developed by IMDA in consultation with companies. It provides an integrated interface to generate testing reports covering different governance principles for an AI system. This enables companies to share the reports with stakeholders and be more transparent about their AI.

AI Verify was launched as a minimum viable product for international pilot last year. It has attracted interest from more than 50 local and multinational companies including IBM, Dell and Hitachi, IMDA said.

Separately, IMDA and Aicadium on Wednesday published a discussion paper to share Singapore’s approach to building an ecosystem for responsible adoption of generative AI – which includes content-generating tools such as ChatGPT.

The paper identifies key risks that have emerged from generative AI and provides an initial framework for policymakers to strengthen the foundation of AI governance, taking into account the unique characteristics of generative AI. 

The framework also helps policymakers address immediate concerns about the technology and invest for longer-term governance outcomes.