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CNA
22 minutes ago
- CNA
Commentary: AI can boost Singapore's productivity, but let's not lose the point of work
SINGAPORE: If there's one message that keeps coming up in Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's recent speeches, it's that Singapore can't afford to sit on the sidelines as artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes the global economy. Singapore needs to 'think harder' about how it can help every company ' make full use of AI ', he said at a conference last month hosted by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) and Singapore Business Federation (SBF). Then on Sunday (Aug 17), during his National Day Rally (NDR) speech, Mr Wong described AI as 'a defining technology of our time', likening its impact to the computer and the internet. 'We will equip and empower every enterprise, especially our SMEs – to harness AI effectively, and sharpen their competitive edge,' he added. In total, Mr Wong mentioned AI around 40 times in his speech, as he outlined Singapore's vision to boost productivity through widespread adoption of the technology. While the ambition is clear, the challenge lies in how it will be implemented in the workplace. A recent multi-country study found that only 19 per cent of firms in Singapore have adopted artificial intelligence or machine learning tools. That means there's significant room for future adoption. But if the implementation isn't handled thoughtfully, AI risks stripping work of its meaning and purpose, reducing our sense of mastery and leaving us feeling like cogs in a machine. The central question for Singapore's AI future, therefore, shouldn't be about using the latest AI tools. What truly matters is how we integrate AI thoughtfully into our personal and professional lives, so that AI enhances – rather than erodes – the meaning and purpose we derive from our work. A CAMERA DOES NOT MAKE SOMEONE A PHOTOGRAPHER When we hear 'AI adoption' in the name of productivity, the first thing that comes to mind is automation – technology doing things faster and cheaper. That sounds great (think of the cost savings this would bring!). But is there a risk of automation without reflection? Of mindless automation? We wouldn't want to create a situation where workers are reduced to passive overseers of machines, there just to monitor and push the stop button if anything goes wrong. Such work can be very disengaging, and we would lose the opportunities to practise and hone our skills. We are already seeing this in places with poor outsourcing practices, where staff grow over-reliant on external companies to do the work for them, such that it weakens decision-making and detaches staff from the work they are responsible for. Far from empowering, such over-dependency leaves workers less confident, less capable, and less in control. The point is this: What we lose from automation is not a technology problem – it is fundamentally a problem rooted in mindsets. A pencil does not make one a writer or an artist; and a camera does not make one a photographer. What matters is whether we see the tool merely as an instrument of utility or as an extension of our creativity and judgment. AI is no different. Too often, people want to use it as a crutch to 'do everything for them'. But AI makes mistakes, just like humans. And yet we are prone to defer our own judgments to computer systems – even in trivial matters. As an example, I once tried to order bubble tea without ice. The cashier refused. Not because it was hard to do, but because 'the system' wouldn't allow it. All she had to do was not put ice into the cup. Instead, she refused because 'the system' (i.e. the cash register) would not allow her to key in the order for an iceless drink. This might seem trivial (and bizarre), but it tells us how easily we humans are willing to surrender our agency to a machine. WHAT IS AGENCY? Agency, at its core, is the psychological conviction that we have the freedom and the ability to shape our environment. Those with a weakened sense of agency often feel they are not in a position to change anything, or that nothing can be changed, and thus resign themselves to the status quo. The philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel described work as a dialogue between the human mind and the world. A sculptor imprints ideas from her mind onto the clay by working with it, by shaping it with her hands. And by working with the clay – pressing, pulling, reshaping – the clay shapes her mind by revealing more about its properties and what she can and cannot do with it. It is through work that we gain a clear understanding of what we can and cannot do. It equips us with the necessary practical knowledge to effectively anticipate challenges, solve problems and craft strong strategies. Most importantly, it allows us to recognise and seize opportunities for innovation. In essence, work fosters mastery, builds confidence, and ultimately grants us freedom – the very foundation of human agency. The challenge, then, is not to let AI sever this dialogue. To use AI meaningfully to enhance our productivity, we must continue to stay 'in the loop' – to be engaged, questioning and reflective. This means being engaged in the things we are responsible for by resisting the temptation of simply accepting AI-generated answers uncritically. It requires having the curiosity to probe, the responsibility to stay engaged and understand what is really happening on the ground, and the courage to challenge the AI's answers when our instincts say otherwise. TECHNOLOGY SHOULD MAKE US BETTER, NOT JUST FASTER At the end of the day, AI is made in our image and likeness – it is fallible, limited and prone to error. It becomes 'superior' only when we surrender our agency to it. Without this fundamental mindset shift, we risk using AI to detach from our work, and to empty out meaning and purpose in what we do. As long as we remain engaged – actively steering, questioning and shaping what we do alongside AI – then we can be assured that these tools will amplify our human potential and creativity, rather than diminish it. This is very much how an artist is able to create beautiful works of art with a mere pencil.
CNA
22 minutes ago
- CNA
Commentary: Nvidia's icy reception in China is buying time for Huawei
TOKYO: Don't be fooled by China's icy response to America's policy reversal that will allow a key Nvidia artificial intelligence chip back on the mainland. The country's AI ambitions currently rely on Nvidia's hardware, and authorities know that – even if they won't admit it. But by fanning fears of alleged security or environmental concerns, they're buying time for Huawei to catch up while keeping trade talks pressure on the US. CEO Jensen Huang was greeted with fanfare by industry leaders in Beijing last month after news broke that the Trump administration will allow the sale of H20 chips to resume. It seemed like China got what it wanted: Loosening export controls designed to hold back its AI sector has been a key sticking point during tariff negotiations. Yet in the weeks since the announcement, cyber authorities have summoned Nvidia to discuss alleged security risks related to the H20s, state media warned of potential backdoors that could cause a 'nightmare', and the government urged local companies to avoid using the much sought-after processers for AI development. When asked about Beijing's unexpected reaction, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Bloomberg TV that it 'tells me that they are worried about the Nvidia chips becoming the standard in China'. This is an optimistic and simplistic take. It's too soon for Washington to be celebrating over this feigned angst. CHINESE COMPANIES UNLIKELY TO STOP BUYING H20S Nvidia's tech stack is already, overwhelmingly, the standard in the nation's AI sector. There's a reason that giants from Bytedance to Alibaba stockpiled billions of dollars' worth of orders ahead of the now-reversed ban. Similarly, it seems a deliberate move that, despite all the talk of lurking threats, China hasn't issued an outright ban itself. While these warnings have drawn a lot of attention, they likely won't be enough to deter companies eager to power their AI ambitions to stop buying H20s. While a Communist Party mouthpiece did appear to blast alleged 'backdoors' in these chips, and many Western news outlets ran with that headline, the reality is more nuanced. The made-to-go viral editorial in a People's Daily WeChat account was far from an official rebuke, according to an analysis from the China Media Project. Instead, it was meant to make Nvidia 'squirm'. It worked. The Santa Clara-based chipmaker responded with a public denial of breaches and argued that adding any in the future would be 'an open invitation for disaster'. It's true, as I've written before, that Beijing would very much prefer its AI industry to use offerings from Huawei instead of Nvidia. But the domestic alternatives aren't ready for primetime – both in terms of performance and the quantity that can be produced. Domestic AI champion DeepSeek was forced to delay the release of its new model because it was trying to train it on Huawei's hardware instead of Nvidia's, the Financial Times reported last week. But even with a team of Huawei engineers on-site, they couldn't get it to work. In an apparent compromise, DeepSeek is using Nvidia for training the model and Huawei for inference (the phase that involves running and deploying AI). It would be foolish for regulators to arrest DeepSeek's momentum by not allowing it to use any US computing power at all. TRUMP'S TRANSACTIONAL APPROACH The most unusual aspect of this is still President Donald Trump's announcement that Nvidia will pay the US 15 per cent of its revenue for AI chip sales on the mainland. It's not hard to imagine the global backlash if such a pay-for-play deal had been set up by the other side. But it also reiterates Trump's transactional approach to these national security concerns. This isn't lost in Beijing, especially at a time when the tariff truce has been further extended. Beijing may be putting on a show that it doesn't want America's chips, but it's really just building a bridge now until the domestic alternatives are ready. There are signs that this moment is approaching: Companies like buzzy startup iFlytek claim to have trained their models entirely with Huawei processers. Still, most Chinese businesses much prefer Nvidia's, in large part because of its supporting software system. Encouraging developers to build on top of Huawei's rival platform over time is what will help improve it enough to eventually force a broader ecosystem shift.
CNA
8 hours ago
- CNA
Growing proportion sees religion as an important part of identity: Survey
Singapore could see growing calls for religious beliefs to be considered in policy-making, as a bigger proportion of people considers their faith central to their identities. Researchers say these findings from a survey may have implications for religious harmony, as groups may jostle for greater public attention and space. They add that such evolving dynamics mean that religious leaders need to be continued to be engaged on matters like social cohesion. For more insights, Dr Mathew Mathews, head of the IPS Social Lab at the NUS Institute of Policy Studies, joins us to tell us more.
