Two New National AI Programmes Launched

Two New National AI Programmes Launched; Additional $180 Million Investment For AI Research

08 Nov 2021

New National AI Programmes in Government and Finance

Two new National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Programmes in Government and Finance were launched at the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) x Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH) 2021. The new Programmes are part of the Singapore Government’s National AI Strategy, which comprise ambitious projects in key sectors aimed at catalysing AI adoption.

The new Programmes were selected based on their potential for wide-ranging impact to improve the lives of our citizens, and help businesses seize new opportunities.

• The National AI Programme in Government aims to further advance Government’s digital transformation efforts. Through greater use of AI in government agencies, the Government hopes to strengthen policymaking and planning, provide more personalised and responsive services, and optimise Government processes for the benefit of citizens and businesses.

  • The Programme has identified projects that will act as pathfinders to show how AI can be better leveraged in the public sector.

    • The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is developing an AI smart planning assistant to transform urban planning and design in Singapore. Given Singapore’s land constraints, urban planners can use AI tools to formulate plans to achieve greater adaptability and sustainability.

    • GovTech is developing JumpStart, an AI-enabled platform with recommendation engines to complement career coaches and offer jobseekers more personalised and effective jobs and skills recommendations. Jobseekers can access JumpStart’s recommendations from a range of Government products, including MyCareersFuture – our national jobs portal. To date, JumpStart has facilitated more than 2,000 job placements and could, according to data from an early pilot, increase the portal’s total job placements by 20%.

  • Central AI Products will be developed for common AI applications that can be used across the Government.

    • GovTech has developed a Video Analytics System (VAS) to support public agencies in the development and deployment of video analytics models. Using the VAS, NParks and GovTech developed the [Safe Distance @ Parks] portal in just 3.5 days. The portal provides the public with live crowd density data in our parks, gardens, and nature reserves, for public to make informed decisions about where to go.

    • Another area of focus is AI text analytics. By leveraging techniques such as natural language processing, we aim to better sense-make information such as the feedback that our frontline agencies receive each year. This will allow us to better understand the pain points and serve citizens better.

• The National AI Programme in Finance aims to develop Singapore into a global hub for financial institutions to research, develop, and deploy AI solutions.

  • One of the key focus of the Programme is on sustainable finance. Over the next 10 years, an estimated $250 billion will be made in green investments in ASEAN annually. To help our financial institutions capture this opportunity, the Programme will develop NovA!, an AI platform for financial risk insights generation to help financial institutions assess companies’ environmental impact and identify emerging environmental risks.

  • The Programme builds on existing initiatives to (a) ensure that AI systems in the finance sector are deployed responsibly; and (b) facilitate public-private data sharing to enable more sophisticated uses of AI.

    • MAS has completed the first phase of Veritas, an AI governance framework and toolkit, to help financial institutions to utilise AI responsibly.

    • Under MAS’ Anti-Money Laundering/Countering Financing of Terrorism Surveillance and Analytics Programme, MAS is also developing a data and information sharing platform known as COSMIC for financial institutions to share information on customers or transactions that cross material risk thresholds, and leverage AI to identify and disrupt illicit networks.

Continued Investments to Further Singapore's AI Ambitions

The Government will invest an additional $180 million under the Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2025 Plan for AI R&D, on top of the current $500 million committed for AI-related activities under RIE 2020. These investments will support:

• Fundamental research, especially to address challenges of AI adoption (e.g. resource-efficient AI, privacy-preserving AI);

• Translational research, especially in key sectors of societal and economic importance (e.g. healthcare, finance, education); as well as

• Industry-research collaborations, to accelerate AI adoption.

On-going Efforts to Advance National AI Strategy

The National AI Office which drives the National AI Strategy has made notable progress in delivering the initial tranche of National AI Programmes[^1] and initiatives to strengthen five Ecosystem Enablers[^2] together with key partners.

Improve citizen well-being and raise productivity through increased AI adoption

Pilots are ongoing in each of the National AI Programmes, with projects on track to meet milestone targets. Some examples of sectors where applications have been deployed and tangible benefits delivered include Healthcare, Smart Cities & Estates and Transport & Logistics.

• SELENA+ is an AI-enabled tool used for retinal image analysis to detect major diabetic-related eye diseases more quickly and accurately.

  • Developed by Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI) and NUS, SELENA+ achieves a similar diagnostic performance to human non-physician readers, attaining accuracy levels of more than 90%.

  • Since July 2021, SELENA+ has been deployed to all 22 polyclinics across Singapore and is projected to screen an estimated 120,000 patients annually. Through SELENA+, MOH hopes to make diabetic-related eye disease diagnosis more accessible, enable earlier treatment interventions, and improve health outcomes of Singaporeans.

• OneService Chatbot, also known as Kaki, allows residents to easily report municipal issues on the go via WhatsApp and Telegram, without requiring the additional step of downloading a separate App.

  • Kaki helps agencies to address resident feedback more effectively, as Kaki will ask residents for case-specific details to facilitate case follow-up and directly routes it to the relevant agency. This has enabled agencies to respond to residents’ feedback in a timelier manner.

• SmartBooking, an integrated one-stop booking platform and ‘iBOX’ (Intelligent Box Operation eXchange), a next-generation depot management solution have been deployed by PSA Corporation Ltd (PSA) and the Container Depot and Logistics Association (Singapore) (CDAS). These systems seamlessly connect and exchange data between key transportation nodes in the logistics value chain, and optimise the deployment of trucks and manpower, enhancing efficiency and competitiveness of Singapore’s logistics industry.

Expand job creation through AI innovation activities and upskilling in AI-related competencies

The Government has also helped Singaporeans acquire new skills to capitalise on the emerging opportunities in AI.

• The Government has ramped up support for more Singaporeans to acquire deep skills to take on the new and exciting jobs that AI will bring:

  • Over the past three years, more than 5,000 working professionals have upskilled under AI Singapore’s[^3] AI for Industry (AI4I)® programme and approximately 180 AI engineers have been trained under the AI Apprenticeship programmes (AIAP)® respectively.

  • The TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) programme has also helped more than 10,000 adult Singaporeans acquire new tech skills and placed them in good tech jobs, including AI ones, since 2016.

• The Government has also increased support for upskilling Singaporeans with baseline AI and computing knowledge.

  • Over the past three years, more than 55,000 students and adult learners have been trained in basic AI literacy skills under AI Singapore’s AI for Everyone (AI4E)®, AI for Students (AI4S)®, and AI for Kids (AI4K)® programmes.

  • From 2021, as part of the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) National Digital Literacy Programme, baseline digital competencies – including computational thinking and data competencies – will be enhanced at the Higher Education level. Coverage of digital and AI competencies will also be deepened for students entering sectors ripe for AI adoption.

Improve societal acceptance of AI through better AI governance

The Government has also helped stakeholders use AI in a fair and ethical manner, by investing in good AI governance.

• Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) published the second edition of the Model AI Governance Framework in 2020, to help organisations deploy AI responsibly. Two volumes of Compendium of Use Cases were also released to showcase implementation of the Model Framework by organisations locally and internationally. The Model Framework has also been adapted for sector-specific use, e.g., healthcare.

• IMDA is also developing an AI governance testing framework to help owners and developers be more transparent about their AI systems to build trust with stakeholders.

• Singapore is also participating in global platforms on AI governance, such as the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OCED) expert groups, to exchange perspectives and establish global norms in AI.

Conclusion

AI is a transformative technology that will enable Singapore to push the boundaries. The National AI Strategy has made good progress and we will continue to develop and implement initiatives iteratively, to help businesses seize new opportunities and improve the lives of our citizens.

Annex

Annex A - National AI Strategy Update

For media enquiries, please contact:

Cristiano Peswani (Mr)
Manager, Adoption and Engagement Directorate
Smart Nation and Digital Government Office, Prime Minister’s Office
Tel: 9674 5524
Email: cristiano_peswani@pmo.gov.sg

Goh Yu Chong (Mr)
Assistant Director, Adoption and Engagement Directorate
Smart Nation and Digital Government Office, Prime Minister’s Office
Tel: 9644 1674
Email: goh_yu_chong@pmo.gov.sg

[^1]: National AI Projects were renamed National AI Programmes to better reflect the scope of work under the initiative. The initial tranche of Programmes were in Transport & Logistics, Smart Cities & Estates, Healthcare, Education, and Safety & Security.

[^2]: The five Ecosystem Enablers are (1) triple-helix partnerships across research, industry, and the Government; (2) talent and education; (3) data architecture; (4) progressive and trusted environment; and (5) international collaboration.

[^3]: AI Singapore refers to our national R&D programme in AI to drive AI research, innovation, and commercialisation.