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Singapore announces initiatives on AI governance and ethics

Singapore announces initiatives on AI governance and ethics

On 5 June, at the Innovfest Unbound, Minister for
Communication and Information Mr S. Iswaran delivered
his opening speech, announcing new initiatives on artificial intelligence (AI)
governance and ethics.

In
his opening speech, Minister said that as Singapore develops its digital
economy, it is important to establish a trusted ecosystem where industries can
benefit from innovations in technology while consumer confidence and understanding
can be assured. As new business models and innovations rapidly develop in the
emergent AI space, it is timely to proactively discuss and address ethical
issues that may arise from the use of AI and data. Ethical issues surrounding
AI include fairness, transparency and the ability to explain an AI’s decision

To
drive awareness of the benefits and understand the challenges of AI,
Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) is engaging key
stakeholders including government, industry, consumers and academia to
collaboratively shape the Government’s plans for the AI ecosystem.

“Such discourse will inform the Government’s ongoing plans
to support Singapore as a hub for AI development and innovation, and help
Singapore to effectively respond to global developments,” said Minister.

According to the Minister, IMDA will engage relevant
stakeholders through three new structured, interlinked initiatives. These
initiatives complement IMDA’s current suite of business and talent programmes
to develop a vibrant AI ecosystem and position Singapore as a leading hub for
AI.

The three new initiatives are:

(1)   
An
Advisory Council on the Ethical Use of AI and Data

An
Advisory Council on the Ethical Use of AI and Data will be appointed by the
Minister for Communications and Information to advise and work with IMDA in the
areas of responsible development and deployment of AI.

The
Advisory Council will assist the Government to develop ethics standards and
reference governance frameworks and publish advisory guidelines, practical
guidance, and/or codes of practice for the voluntary adoption by the industry.

The
Advisory Council will include private sector thought leaders in AI and Big Data
from local and international companies as well as representatives for consumer
interest. Former Attorney-General V.K. Rajah SC has been appointed the Advisory
Council’s inaugural Chairman.

The
Advisory Council will assist IMDA in three ways:

First,
to engage with relevant stakeholders such as ethics boards of commercial
enterprises on ethical and related issues arising from private sector use of AI
and data, and consumer advocates on consumer expectations and acceptance of
such use.

Second,
to engage the private capital community to increase awareness of the need to
incorporate ethics considerations in their investment decisions into businesses
which develop or adopt AI.

Third,
to stablish a Legal and Technical Expert Panel to support the Advisory Council,
as well as a Panel of International Experts for global perspectives.

The full
list of Advisory Council members will be made available at a later date.

(2)   
A
discussion paper released by Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) on
responsible development and adoption of AI

The PDPC is putting forward a discussion paper on how a possible
reference AI and Data governance framework for industries could look like, as
well as what elements could be included. The discussion paper will be used to
support the Advisory Council to frame its deliberations.

The discussion paper will create a baseline for discussion
across stakeholders, encouraging common definitions and common frames for
dialogue, and is intended as a living document.

The discussion paper recommends two key principles:

First, decisions made by or with the assistance of AI should
be explainable, transparent and fair to consumers.

Second, AI systems, robots and decisions should be
human-centric.

The discussion paper’s four-stage reference governance
framework illustrates how these principles can be put into practice by different
stakeholders, such as identifying the objectives of an AI governance framework;
selecting appropriate organisational governance measures; putting in place
consumer relationship management processes; and building a decision-making and
risk assessment framework.

The discussion paper was compiled in consultation with key
government and industry stakeholders, to support collaborative discussions on
the responsible development and adoption of AI. One of the early and
collaborators of the discussion paper is the Monetary Authority of Singapore
(MAS). Its Fairness, Ethics, Accountability and Transparency (FEAT) Committee
will use the discussion paper to help shape its ongoing discussion on the use
of AI and data analytics in the financial industry.

The discussion paper is available
online
at PDPC’s website.

(3)   
A research
programme on the governance of AI and data use

The Minister also announced the launch of a research
programme on the governance of AI and data use. The five-year Research
Programme on the Governance of AI and Data Use will be set up at the Singapore
Management University (SMU) to conduct scholarly research on policy, legal,
regulatory, governance, ethics and other issues relating to AI and data use.

The Research Programme aims to conduct research on selected
topics in AI and data use, organise engagement forums to engage stakeholders to
generate and share knowledge and bring clarity to policy and regulatory issues
and their impact, and publish and present research papers to showcase
Singapore’s thought leadership in the international AI and data research
communities.

The programme will support the Advisory Council and inform the
Government and industry discussion on AI challenges through its research and
conferences. In addition, the Research Programme enables Singapore to continue
to drive thought leadership and discourse with exemplary case studies, develop
a body of AI knowledge, and be a knowledge exchange centre with international
experts.

The call for proposal to set up the Research Programme was
conducted jointly by IMDA and the National Research Foundation.

As part of the Digital
Economy Framework for Action
, IMDA will support Singapore’s AI
development strategy by:

(1)   
Help drive industry adoption and understanding
of the benefits from implementing,

(2)   
Build a vibrant core of AI developers and
companies to foster an ecosystem of users and suppliers as well as build an
AI-ready pool of talented researchers and engineers,

(3)   
Address specific AI leadership areas to grow
industry capabilities and develop R&D capabilities, and

(4)   
Continue to provide clarity and review relevant
regulations for a conducive AI business environment.

PARTNER

Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private company, Qlik offers real-time data integration and analytics solutions, powered by Qlik Cloud, to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik serves more than 38,000 active customers in over 100 countries.

PARTNER

CTC Global Singapore, a premier end-to-end IT solutions provider, is a fully owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC) and ITOCHU Corporation.

Since 1972, CTC has established itself as one of the country’s top IT solutions providers. With 50 years of experience, headed by an experienced management team and staffed by over 200 qualified IT professionals, we support organizations with integrated IT solutions expertise in Autonomous IT, Cyber Security, Digital Transformation, Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure, Workplace Modernization and Professional Services.

Well-known for our strengths in system integration and consultation, CTC Global proves to be the preferred IT outsourcing destination for organizations all over Singapore today.

PARTNER

Planview has one mission: to build the future of connected work. Our solutions enable organizations to connect the business from ideas to impact, empowering companies to accelerate the achievement of what matters most. Planview’s full spectrum of Portfolio Management and Work Management solutions creates an organizational focus on the strategic outcomes that matter and empowers teams to deliver their best work, no matter how they work. The comprehensive Planview platform and enterprise success model enables customers to deliver innovative, competitive products, services, and customer experiences. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with locations around the world, Planview has more than 1,300 employees supporting 4,500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide. For more information, visit www.planview.com.

SUPPORTING ORGANISATION

SIRIM is a premier industrial research and technology organisation in Malaysia, wholly-owned by the Minister​ of Finance Incorporated. With over forty years of experience and expertise, SIRIM is mandated as the machinery for research and technology development, and the national champion of quality. SIRIM has always played a major role in the development of the country’s private sector. By tapping into our expertise and knowledge base, we focus on developing new technologies and improvements in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors. We nurture Small Medium Enterprises (SME) growth with solutions for technology penetration and upgrading, making it an ideal technology partner for SMEs.

PARTNER

HashiCorp provides infrastructure automation software for multi-cloud environments, enabling enterprises to unlock a common cloud operating model to provision, secure, connect, and run any application on any infrastructure. HashiCorp tools allow organizations to deliver applications faster by helping enterprises transition from manual processes and ITIL practices to self-service automation and DevOps practices. 

PARTNER

IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

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