How can we harness the potential of Gen AI in Singapore and ASEAN?

Written by: Nabilah Binte Mohammed Ismail

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) has become increasingly commonplace in our daily lives as we see it appear more often in the content we consume (anybody see those Dark Fantasy TikToks or Spongebob covers of popular songs?).

Photo Credit: TikTok/fonderer

A recent poll by market research firm YouGov highlighted an interesting dichotomy - while 92% of Singaporeans are aware of the benefits that GenAI brings to daily work, there’s a significant gap in understanding how to effectively harness its potential.

It begs the question: How can this knowledge gap then be bridged to fully capitalise on what generative AI has to offer?

A webinar, titled ‘‘Harnessing the Potential of Gen AI in Singapore and ASEAN’, was held on Aug 31 to highlight the emerging challenges and opportunities present in this sector, including how it revolutionised the future of work in the region. They also explored how youths in ASEAN can navigate the evolving landscape of GenAI to create a productive, secure and inclusive future for all.

Photo credit: National Youth Council

Organised by the National Youth Council’s Asia-Ready Exposure Programme team, the webinar featured guest speakers Mr Josh Lee and Ms Yue Yean Feng.

Mr Lee is the managing director (APAC) of the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF), a Washington DC based think tank and advocacy group focused on issues of data privacy. He is also an adjunct professor (AI Law, Policy, and Ethics) at the SMU Yong Pung How School of Law. Ms Yue spearheads IBM’s corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and University Programs across Greater China, Korea, ASEAN and Australia/ New Zealand.

Mr Lee explains that GenAI is “a form of deep learning that utilises deep neural networks that’s able to produce an output, similar to the structure of how the brain works”.

“When you combine this with a new form of architecture called the transformer, that’s what brings you to GenAI,” he added.

One of the most pressing concerns is the potential misuse of AI-generated content, Mr Lee said. The technology, despite its capabilities, can sometimes produce "confabulations"— content that seems logical and coherent but is completely false. Mr Lee presented an example where the Pope was wearing a fly white puffer jacket. This raises critical questions about trust and the spread of misinformation. He also notes on privacy and data protection issues as GenAI systems often train on vast amounts of data scraped from the web, which can include personal information. This poses significant risks, especially if such data is used without consent or misappropriated for malicious purposes.

Photo credit: National Youth Council

Recognising these challenges, Mr Lee shared how Singapore has been proactive in developing a robust AI governance framework. This framework provides companies with guidelines on responsible AI deployment, ensuring that AI systems are transparent, accountable and trustworthy. The Government’s efforts also include research programmes to address long-term issues, an advisory council to guide AI policies, and AI Verify—a testing program to ensure AI systems perform as claimed.

Photo credit: National Youth Council

“We need to know where the technology is developing and what are the guardrails that will be put in place, it affects the bedrock of trust and is a larger concern for us moving forward. We must trust but verify,” Mr Lee said.

He added that one can also safeguard themselves and by being careful of how their personal data might be used and what rights and protection a data subject would have.Additionally, building AI literacy is a good first step in having increased AI security. Understanding how AI works, the data it uses and the ethical implications of its application is crucial.

Ms Yue said that “formalised AI training in education is becoming more important because we are seeing the deepening of AI adoption and tech adoption.”

Acknowledging Mr Lee’s previous sentiment of keeping AI trustworthy and transparent, Ms Yue added that jobs in AI governance or AI policy will see an uptick. Additionally, she believes that the future will see humans leveraging AI technology and there will be disparity between those who can and cannot leverage on AI to work. There might even be opportunities for some to step in and take on the role of an educator.

Even in non-technical job roles, AI can streamline tasks, increase efficiency and open up new possibilities. GenAI offers other applications in sports, entertainment, healthcare and businesses. Ms Yue cites an example where junior lawyers can leverage AI to reduce time spent on researching existing patents, allowing them to focus on other tasks.

Photo credit: National Youth Council

However, it will also be key to continuously update both technical skills and soft skills and My Yue emphasises that discerning humans are essential when working with AI.

“We need critical core skills like analytical thinking, design thinking, problem solving, or even presentation skills. These are transferable skills and are important in any workplace and are becoming more important in this landscape,” she said.

Ms Yue shared that her organisation offers free courses to learn more about the new AI Landscape. These courses prioritise skills and competency-training as it aims to narrow the digital divide and teach how to make technology work for us.

“Technology is something we have to learn for life,” she said. The courses are available for high school students, adult learners and university students.

She added that Singapore can also learn more from its regional neighbours in how they’ve applied AI in agricultural science and growth, tourism or AI governance.

Earlier this year, Malaysia rolled out a draft code set of national guidelines on AI governance and ethics. Indonesia as well announced that they might be looking to push out a presidential decree to introduce hard regulations for AI.

Mr Lee believes that “ASEAN can only be a leading player in AI governance if all jurisdictions are leaders in their own right in AI governance.”

Embracing the possibilities, but with a sense of responsibility and ethical awareness is important. GenAI is a powerful tool that should be utilised to create a more productive, secure and inclusive future for all. It’s not just an opportunity to learn and grow, but a chance to lead the way in shaping the future of AI.

For more details on the AEP programme, visit https://www.nyc.gov.sg/programmes-grants/asia-ready-exposure-programme and https://linktr.ee/AEPnycsg.

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