Tech and innovation committee to boost AI adoption among firms and workers
Speaking to reporters after touring PwC Singapore's AI hub on Monday (Aug 11), Minister for Digital Development and Information (MDDI) Josephine Teo said sustained economic growth is not a given, 'so we will have to find ways to strengthen our economic strategies to be relevant to the current times'.
This led to the creation of the economic strategy review , with one of its key pillars being the committee on tech and innovation, she added.
A key area the committee will examine is how AI adoption can be broadened and deepened. This means looking at the number of companies that will adopt the technology meaningfully, and the number of people that will become meaningful AI practitioners in their business domains, said Teo.
The committee is co-chaired by Minister of State for Digital Development and Information and Education Jasmin Lau and Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth and Sustainability and the Environment Goh Hanyan.
Goh, also present at the tour of PwC's AI hub, said in response to media queries on small and medium-sized enterprises' (SME) adoption of AI that 'we are currently at the process of meeting with new companies' to understand what they are facing on the ground and what they want to be supported by.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
Sign Up
Sign Up
'It's incumbent for us to listen to the voices of businesses and even workers from companies big and small, to ensure that the whole economy benefits and is uplifted by this technology,' she added.
The committee aims to address different companies' pain points and figure out how to support them in AI adoption.
Companies with more resources can develop in-house solutions, but the question for smaller businesses is the way of improving access to pre-approved solutions, Goh noted.
Acquiring AI skills to stay relevant
Responding to The Business Times' question on how the committee intends to help SMEs overcome tight budgets and other practical challenges in adopting AI, she said that it is 'too early to tell' since the committee just started on formal consultations.
'Sometimes the best solutions may not come from the government. It's about learning from each other, learning from experts, and drawing the links,' she noted.
In response to a question on AI replacing jobs, Goh said the committee will prepare workers to not get replaced and move into sectors that will benefit from the technology.
'We want to see how most employees can be equipped with AI relevant skills so that they can continue to play a part in the workforce of the future', said Teo, adding that this will be a very important part of the economic strategy review's work.
She noted that workers who are acquiring AI skills will have a better chance of succeeding, compared to those who are not so ready.
Wide-scale adoption of AI also ties in with MDDI's work related to Smart Nation 2.0 and National AI Strategy 2.0, she said.
PwC launches new AI hub
As part of the committee's work in engaging with companies on their AI Centres of Excellence, Teo and Goh toured PwC's AI hub, where they saw live demonstrations of the technology improving various business functions.
The hub was launched on May 21 , with the PwC network aiming to commit US$4 million over a three-year period.
In a written response to BT queries, AI hub leader of PwC Singapore Anthony Dias said that the hub aims to develop and scale AI capabilities, foster strategic alliances and help organisations build practical applications.
'Over the past year, PwC has worked with organisations worldwide to scale AI use cases across industries such as finance, healthcare, logistics, legal and the public sector,' he said.
The hub's number of employees grew from four at inception to 15 at its official launch in May. 'We are now looking to expand the team to 20 employees by the end of the fiscal year,' noted Dias.
While the hub's employees currently comprise AI researchers and data scientists, he said that PwC is exploring opportunities to include product managers, solution architects, business analysts and domain experts in areas such as tax, legal and sustainability.
The hub is also supported by the Economic Development Board.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
25 minutes ago
- CNA
India cenbank committee recommends AI framework for finance sector
MUMBAI :A Reserve Bank of India committee has recommended a framework for developing AI capabilities for the country's financial sector, while safeguarding it against associated risks, according to a report released on Wednesday. The committee has recommended setting up a digital infrastructure to help build indigenous AI models and a multi-stakeholder standing committee to evaluate risks and opportunities. It also suggested building a fund to incentivise the development of homegrown AI models tailored for the needs of India's financial services sector. "The report envisions a financial ecosystem where encouraging innovation is in harmony, and not at odds, with mitigation of risk," the RBI said in a statement. The report contains 26 recommendations under six categories including infrastructure, capacity, policy, governance, protection and assurance. Other key recommendations by the eight-member committee headed by Pushpak Bhattacharyya, a computer scientist at IIT Bombay, include issuing of an enabling framework to integrate AI with existing digital public platforms such as instant payment system UPI, and designing audit frameworks. The central bank had set up the committee in December to develop a Framework for Responsible and Ethical Enablement of Artificial Intelligence (FREEAI) for the finance sector. "The challenge with regulating AI is in striking the right balance, making sure that society stands to gain from what this technology has to offer, while mitigating its risks," according to the report.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
US embeds trackers in AI chip shipments to catch diversions to China, sources say
The US has sought to limit exports of chips and other technology to China in recent years to restrain its military modernisation. - The US authorities have secretly placed location-tracking devices in targeted shipments of advanced chips they see as being at high risk of illegal diversion to China, according to two people with direct knowledge of the previously unreported law enforcement tactic. The measures aim to detect artificial intelligence (AI) chips being diverted to destinations that are under US export restrictions, and apply only to select shipments under investigation, the people said. They show the lengths to which the US has gone to enforce its chip export restrictions on China, even as the Trump administration has sought to relax some curbs on Chinese access to advanced American semiconductors. The trackers can help build cases against people and companies who profit from violating US export controls, said the people, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue. Location trackers are a decades-old investigative tool used by US law enforcement agencies to track products subject to export restrictions, such as airplane parts. They have been used to combat the illegal diversion of semiconductors in recent years, one source said. Five other people actively involved in the AI server supply chain said they were aware of the use of the trackers in shipments of servers from manufacturers such as Dell and Super Micro, which include chips from Nvidia and AMD. Those people said the trackers are typically hidden in the packaging of the server shipments. They did not know which parties were involved in installing them, or where along the shipping route they were put in. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 2 dead after fire in Jalan Bukit Merah flat, about 60 evacuated Singapore How the SAF's drone push for recruits reflects new battlefield realities Singapore HSA seeks Kpod investigators to arrest abusers, conduct anti-trafficking ops Opinion The 30s are heavy: Understanding suicide among Singapore's young adults Singapore Lawyer who sent misleading letters to 22 doctors fails in bid to quash $18,000 penalty Singapore Jail, caning for recalcitrant drug offender who assaulted 2 cops with stun device Singapore 4 taken to hospital after accident near Sports Hub, including 2 rescued with hydraulic tools Singapore SG60: Many hands behind Singapore's success story Reuters was not able to determine how often the trackers have been used in chip-related investigations, or when the US authorities started using them to investigate chip smuggling. The US started restricting the sale of advanced chips by Nvidia, AMD and other manufacturers to China in 2022. In one 2024 case described by two of the people involved in the server supply chain, a shipment of Dell servers with Nvidia chips included both large trackers on the shipping boxes and smaller, more discreet devices hidden inside the packaging – and even within the servers themselves. A third person said they had seen images and videos of trackers being removed by other chip resellers from Dell and Super Micro servers. The person said some of the larger trackers were roughly the size of a smartphone. The US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security, which oversees export controls and enforcement, is typically involved, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) may take part too, said the sources. The HSI and FBI both declined to comment. The commerce department did not respond to requests for comment. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it was not aware of the matter. Super Micro said in a statement that it does not disclose its 'security practices and policies in place to protect our worldwide operations, partners and customers'. It declined to comment on any tracking actions by the US authorities. Dell said it is 'not aware of a US government initiative to place trackers in its product shipments'. Nvidia declined to comment, while AMD did not answer a request for comment. Chip restrictions The US, which dominates the global AI chip supply chain, has sought to limit exports of chips and other technology to China in recent years to restrain its military modernisation. It has also put restrictions on the sale of chips to Russia to undercut war efforts against Ukraine. The White House and both houses of Congress have proposed requiring US chip firms to include location verification technology with their chips to prevent them from being diverted to countries where US export regulations restrict sales. China has slammed the US exports curbs as part of a campaign to suppress its rise and criticised the location tracking proposal. In July, the country's powerful cyberspace regulator summoned Nvidia to a meeting to express its concerns over the risks of its chips containing 'backdoors' that would allow remote access or control, which the company has strongly denied. In January, Reuters reported the US had traced organised AI chip smuggling to China via countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates – but it is unclear if tracking devices were involved. The use of trackers by US law enforcement goes back decades. In 1985, Hughes Aircraft shipped equipment subject to US export controls, according to a court decision reviewed by Reuters. Executing a search warrant, the US customs service intercepted the crate at a Houston airport and installed a tracking device, the decision noted. US export enforcement agents sometimes install trackers after getting administrative approval. Other times, they get a judge to issue a warrant authorising use of the device, one source said. With a warrant, it is easier to use the information as evidence in a criminal case. A company may be told about the tracker, if it is not a subject of the investigation, and may consent to the government's installation of the trackers, the source added. But the devices can also be installed without its knowledge. People involved in diverting export-controlled chip and server shipments to China said they were aware of the devices. Two of the supply chain sources, who are China-based resellers of export-controlled chips, said they regularly took care to inspect diverted shipments of AI chip servers for the trackers due to the risks of the devices being embedded. An affidavit filed with a US Department of Justice complaint – regarding the arrests of two Chinese nationals charged with illegally shipping tens of millions of dollars' worth of AI chips to China earlier in August – describes one co-conspirator instructing another to check for trackers on Quanta H200 servers, which contain Nvidia chips. It said the English-language text was sent by a co-conspirator, whose name was redacted, to one of the defendants, Mr Yang Shiwei. 'Pay attention to see if there is a tracker on it, you must look for it carefully,' said the person, who went on to call the Trump administration by an obscenity. 'Who knows what they will do.' REUTERS
CNA
5 hours ago
- CNA
CoreWeave shares drop as growing losses eclipse AI demand surge
CoreWeave shares sank 10 per cent in premarket trading on Wednesday after the Nvidia-backed company posted a bigger-than-expected loss, raising doubts about its ability to keep costs under check amid robust AI demand. Its results underscore the tension between its rapid revenue growth and mounting financial strain as operating expenses jumped nearly fourfold to $1.19 billion in the second quarter. Analysts have turned skeptical of CoreWeave's excessive dependence on certain customers and its ability to grow profitably due to widening losses, heavy capital needs and deteriorating debt coverage. The company on Tuesday posted a net loss of $290.5 million, compared with analysts' average estimate of $190.6 million, according to data compiled by LSEG. "CoreWeave does not currently generate enough profit to pay all its debt holders, certainly not equity holders," D.A. Davidson analysts said. The company had around $8 billion in debt as of last year and had said in March that it would use about $1 billion of the IPO proceeds to repay debt. CEO Michael Intrator said the company is scaling rapidly to meet "unprecedented demand for AI", but noted that "accessing power shells capable of delivering the scale of infrastructure our clients require" remains the biggest constraint. "This continues to be a business that is not worth scaling," D.A. Davidson analysts said. CoreWeave operates 33 AI data centers in the U.S. and Europe, offering access to backer Nvidia's GPUs, which are highly sought after for training and running large AI models. Surging demand for its AI infrastructure helped the company top quarterly revenue estimates. Its stock price has jumped nearly three-fold since its IPO in March. Investors will seek clarity on the lock-up period related to the company's IPO, which could expire later this week compared to the typical six-month time frame. Sometimes, a stock is pressured when the lock-up ceases.
