Keeping Ahead of the Pack – Singapore Sets Out Roadmap for AI Development

I. Introduction

The rise of artificial intelligence (“AI”) has impacted the world like a force of nature, changing the way we live and work. But like any force of nature, it has to be tamed in order to benefit the people rather than being left to grow out of control. The tide of AI is continually advancing, and while the crest of this wave may be far into the future, the present concerns of industry stakeholders include how to effectively channel its waters so as to remain ahead of the pack.

In this regard, Singapore has established itself as a regional leader in AI, both in terms of development and regulation. Singapore’s approach has been balanced and multi-faceted, addressing key factors including:

• The physical and institutional infrastructure necessary to support AI research and development and creation of a facilitative environment;
• The regulatory framework necessary to ensure security and standards so as to nurture responsible development of AI; and
• In the global context, greater coordination and cooperation with international partners, recognising the importance of a place at the table for the global conversation on AI development.

In this article, we take a look at Singapore’s current roadmap for AI development, and the initiatives and programmes it plans to undertake in the coming years. This includes an overview of Singapore’s National AI Strategy 2.0 (“NAIS 2.0”), the establishment of the first of its kind Generative AI Evaluation Sandbox, the development of a regional Large Language Model (“LLM”) ecosystem, and coordination efforts within and outside of Southeast Asia.

II. Singapore National AI Strategy 2.0

The Singapore Government released the first National AI Strategy in 2019, outlining plans to deepen the use of AI to transform the economy. However, in recognition of the rapidly changing landscape of AI technology, Singapore launched its updated AI roadmap in the form of the NAIS 2.0 on 4 December 2023.

The NAIS 2.0 introduces three key shifts to propel Singapore as a leader in the field of AI:

• Repositioning AI as a necessity rather than an opportunity or accessory;
• Shifting from a local context to a global outlook; and
• Moving from individual projects to the development of a wide-scale infrastructure and foundation for AI.

The NAIS 2.0 is based on the principle of “AI for the Public Good, for Singapore and the World”. It takes the position that AI can be a potent force for good, and will transform cognitive and physical tasks. This requires us to steer AI for the public good, and harness AI in a sustainable way to create positive impact.

The NAIS 2.0 sets out 15 actions that will be undertaken across the three identified Systems and the 10 identified Enablers. These are summarised in the table below.

System	Enabler	Action
Activity Drivers	Industry	Anchor new AI Centres of Excellence (“CoEs”) across companies, and explore establishing Sectoral AI CoEs to drive sophisticated AI value creation and usage in key sectors
		Strengthen the AI start-up ecosystem, including attracting AI-focused accelerator programmes to spur rapid AI experimentation
	Government	Improve Public Service productivity, with new value propositions for citizens
	Research	Update national AI research and development plans to sustain leadership in select research areas
Communities	Talent	Attract world’s top AI Creators to work from and with Singapore
		Boost AI Practitioner pool to 15,000
	Capabilities	Intensify enterprise AI adoption for industry transformation
		Upskill workforce through sector-specific AI training programmes
	Placemaking	Establish an iconic AI site to co-locate AI creators and practitioners, and nurture the AI community in Singapore
Infrastructure and Environment	Compute	Significantly increase high-performance compute available in Singapore
	Data	Build up data management capabilities and develop capabilities in Privacy-Enhancing Technologies
		Unlock Government data for use cases that serve the Public Good
	Trusted Environment	Ensure fit-for-purpose regulatory environment for AI
		Raise security and resilience baseline for AI
	Leader in Thought and Action	Establish Singapore as an ambitious and pragmatic international partner on AI innovation and governance

III.  Generative AI Evaluation Sandbox

On 31 October 2023, the Infocomm Media Development Authority ("IMDA") and the AI Verify Foundation announced the first of its kind Generative AI Evaluation Sandbox. The Sandbox will bring together key global players to build capabilities in the testing and evaluation of generative AI and stands as part of efforts to have a common standard approach to assess generative AI.

The Sandbox will utilise a new Evaluation Catalogue ("Catalogue"), as a shared resource, that details common baseline methods and recommendations for LLMs. Key model developers (including Google and Microsoft), application developers with concrete use cases (including DataRobot and OCBC) and third-party testers (including Deloitte and EY) have joined the Sandbox thus far (with the full list of participants being available here). The Sandbox participants will assist in creating a more robust testing environment.

Key aspects of the Sandbox are:

• Offering a common language for the evaluation of generative AI through the Evaluation Catalogue. By offering a research-based categorisation of current evaluation benchmarks and methods, the Sandbox will provide a baseline for the evaluation of generative AI. 

• Creating a body of knowledge covering how generative AI products should be tested. The Sandbox will help build evaluation capabilities beyond what currently resides with model developers. As the testing of generative AI should also include the application developers who build on top of the models, the Sandbox will involve players in the third-party testing ecosystem. 

• Developing new benchmarks and tests. The Sandbox use cases will likely reveal gaps in the current landscape of generative AI evaluations. The Sandbox will develop benchmarks for evaluating model performance in specific areas that are important for use cases, and for countries like Singapore that have cultural and language specificities.

IV.  Southeast Asia’s First Large Language Model Ecosystem

On 4 December 2023, IMDA announced that it would be partnering with AI Singapore and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research to launch the National Multimodal Large Language Model Programme (“NMLP”), which seeks to be Southeast Asia’s first LLM ecosystem. This effort will enhance the nation’s capabilities in AI research and innovation, leveraging high-performance computing resources by the National Supercomputing Centre.

The new S$70 million initiative will develop Singapore’s research and engineering capabilities in multi-modal LLMs and support the NAIS 2.0. The NMLP will:

• Build skilled AI talent in Singapore by providing funding and access to high-end computing for local researchers and engineers.
• Foster a thriving AI industry to develop LLM-enabled solutions for greater productivity and new opportunities for businesses.
• Enable Singapore to build a trusted environment in using AI and develop a base model with regional context.

IMDA has highlighted the strategic need to develop sovereign capabilities in LLMs. A cornerstone of this initiative is the development of multimodal and localised LLMs for Singapore and the region to understand context and values related to the diverse cultures and languages of Southeast Asia, such as managing context-switching between languages in multilingual Singapore.

V.  US-Singapore Dialogue on Critical and Emerging Technologies

The inaugural US-Singapore Dialogue on Critical and Emerging Technologies ("CET") was launched on 12 October 2023, and aims to upgrade the bilateral partnership between the countries on the frontiers of scientific and technological enterprise. Singapore and US intend to anchor the CET Dialogue and corollary lines of efforts in certain key areas, one of which is AI.

In this regard, US and Singapore resolved to deepen information-sharing and consultations on international AI security, safety, trust, and standards development, while continuing to race ahead at the leading edge of responsible innovation. The bilateral initiatives and enhanced cooperation in this area include the following:

• AI Standards Equivalency – A mapping exercise was completed between the US Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology AI Risk Management Framework and IMDA’s AI Verify.
• AI Governance Working Group – A bilateral AI Governance Working Group was established to focus on advancing shared principles for safe, trustworthy, and responsible AI innovation, to complement the US’ Voluntary AI Commitments and a potential multilateral AI Code of Conduct.
• Research & Education – Collaboration between the US National Science Foundation and AI Singapore will be expanded through joint research and educational funding opportunities focused on trustworthy and safe AI systems.
• Professional Certification – Singapore and US will explore reciprocal certification programs for American and Singaporean AI professionals on the basis of shared standards, tests, and benchmarks.

One of the initiatives that has drawn attention is the mapping of US’ AI Risk Management Framework and Singapore’s AI Verify. Directly addressing the barrier of entry that is differing AI technical standards, the aligned approaches between the two counties means that businesses would have greater certainty about meeting the requirements in both jurisdictions, which leads to lower compliance costs for AI deployment and innovation.

VI.  Concluding Remarks

The slate of initiatives announced by Singapore in the recent months demonstrate the Government’s comprehensive and forward-thinking approach towards harnessing the potential of AI technology, favouring a facilitative stance to encourage innovation and development. At the same time, the approach also allows the controlled management of AI development so as to keep a close rein on the risks associated with the adoption and deployment of AI.

With the speed at which AI technology is advancing, it may be expected that Singapore will continue to update and revise its AI roadmap to adapt to changing circumstances. We may also expect other countries to take a page out of Singapore’s book and implement similar strategies with regard to AI development.

AUTHOR INFORMATION:

Rajesh Sreenivasan is Partner and Head of Technology, Media & Telecommunications Practice at Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP.
E: rajesh@rajahtann.com

Steve Tan is Partner and Deputy Head of Technology, Media & Telecommunications Practice at Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP.
E: steve.tan@rajahtann.com

Benjamin Cheong is Partner and Deputy Head of Technology, Media & Telecommunications Practice at Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP.
E: benjamin.cheong@rajahtann.com

Lionel Tan is a Partner in the Technology, Media & Telecommunications Practice at Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP.
E: lionel.tan@rajahtann.com

Tanya Tang is a Partner and Chief Economic and Policy Advisor at Technology, Media & Telecommunications Practice at Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP.
E: tanya.tang@rajahtann.com

Justin Lee is a Partner in the Technology, Media & Telecommunications Practice at Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP.
E: justin.lee@rajahtann.com