The Edge Singapore spoke to business leaders, investors, and academics on Singapore's multibillion-dollar push to harness AI – from national policy and workforce reskilling to what it means for local companies and startups.
Associate Professor Ben Leong from the Department of Computer Science offered a grounded take on where Singapore stands in the global AI race. Rather than competing head-on with the United States – the world's dominant technology powerhouse for the past two decades – he argued that Singapore's edge lies in finding the right niches.
"That's not to say that we shouldn't care. We don't have a choice. It is not possible for us to be Number One or Number Two in AI. Despite this situation, what can we do? Give up? That cannot be right. So we try to find niches that make sense for us."
On the productivity gains AI has delivered so far, Assoc Prof Leong was measured. While AI has meaningfully lifted output, the benefits are not uniform, and the pace of change may be slower than the hype suggests.
"The reality is that AI has somewhat increased productivity, about 20% to 30%. It's not massive, but there are some productivity gains. But if you ask me, will AI change everything? Not really or perhaps not so fast."
His sharpest observation, though, was about people rather than technology. Ultimately, he noted, how quickly a company adopts AI comes down to management decisions, and the willingness to change behaviour.
"Adoption of AI is not a tech problem. It's a human problem where you are trying to change behaviour."
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