AI’S IMPACT ON JOBS
While adopting AI, however, Singapore will also need to think “equally hard” about doing so in a way that creates jobs for locals, he said.
Mr Wong then noted that history suggests that jobs will disappear and evolve because of technology, but the newly created jobs are usually better and higher paying.
But there are concerns that AI will be different because it can do so many things that humans can, he added.
“People are worried, people are wondering, and there are good reasons to be concerned,” said Mr Wong.
Singapore has no choice when it comes to adopting technology, but should try to do so in a “meaningful and deliberate manner” that creates jobs.
“It’s up to us,” he said. “And again, we can do it in Singapore because we have the ability as a compact system.”
The government has a good relationship with employers and unions, and can discuss how to redesign jobs and retrain workers.
“That’s what we must do in Singapore, not just rush headlong into AI,” he said.
“Embrace it, adopt it, but always make sure that the technological changes that we harness, the power of technology, benefits workers not replaces them, and always ensures that workers will thrive in this new environment.”
GLOBAL CITY AMID GEOPOLITICAL TENSIONS
Mr Wong also responded to a question from Mr Janadas about how Singapore is preparing to face global challenges such as trade tariffs and an uncertain economic outlook.
Beyond the immediate issues, however, Singapore’s government and society need to think about how to prepare for a very different environment.
“We will need to update and refresh our economic strategies for a changed world,” he said.
The Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce is thinking about how best to do this, and will be making some announcements in due course,” Mr Wong said.
The taskforce was formed in April to help businesses and workers deal with the effects of the US tariffs. Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, who heads the task force, will be speaking at the same conference later on Tuesday.
Even in a fragmented world, there will be a “global network of cosmopolitan cities” that stand out.
“We want to be one of them – a shining node where the human spirit thrives, where people want to be here to do business and to make things happen,” he said, when asked what Singapore’s place is in a changing world.
