Latest news with #Josephine Teo
CNA
22-07-2025
- Business
- CNA
Lawyers, doctors among professionals earmarked to drive Singapore's AI adoption beyond initial 15,000 practitioners
SINGAPORE: Singapore's artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions are set to grow beyond training technical specialists, with plans to develop a broader tier of professionals like lawyers and doctors, said Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo. Speaking at a fireside chat at Fortune's Brainstorm AI Singapore conference on Tuesday (Jul 22), Mrs Teo said the country hopes to grow a pool of professionals to "complement" traditional AI practitioners such as data scientists and machine learning engineers. The government had previously announced plans to more than triple the number of AI practitioners in Singapore to 15,000 over the next few years, as part of the country's updated national AI strategy. This new pool of professionals is expected to far exceed that figure, according to Mrs Teo. "We're talking about people who are in the professions, lawyers, accountants, doctors, who will become the early adopters of AI and then they show their peers how to make better use of it." Others in sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, and financial services will also be part of this group. "They themselves also acquire this facility with using AI, and then they demonstrate how it can create more value for their organisations," added the minister. Singapore will have to "get to a much larger number" of competent AI users than previously mentioned, said Mrs Teo. While she did not provide further details, she hinted that further announcements could follow: "So watch this space, we will have more to say about this." VIEWS ON DEEPSEEK When asked about Singapore's approach to evaluating AI platforms amid American concerns over the Chinese AI model DeepSeek, Mrs Teo said it is up to every organisation to decide how to evaluate AI models and whether to use them. "The thing that we ask ourselves is, what are the impediments of using any sort of technology for innovative purposes? And inevitably, cost becomes an issue," she said. "From the perspective of bringing down costs, innovations such as DeepSeek are very much welcomed, but I would also say that this whole dynamic is not necessarily only a competitive one. It is also mutually reinforcing." Mrs Teo cited Singapore's SEA-LION (Southeast Asian Languages in One Network), a large language model that can generate content based on Southeast Asian languages and cultural nuances, as an example. "Many companies are thinking about how they can develop, for example, chat assistance that could be useful in our context," said Mrs Teo. "So, I think there is room for both." She added that having an innovative ecosystem can help bring down costs and enable different AI models to complement one another. "I think they just open up the space for innovation to a larger extent." "I would imagine that there will still be concerns about DeepSeek and other models that would cause companies to take a pause and say that maybe this is something that we are still not very comfortable with. I wouldn't be surprised at all," said Mrs Teo.
CNA
11-07-2025
- Business
- CNA
Singapore needs trusted media now more than ever, says PM Wong
SINGAPORE: Singapore needs trusted media now more than ever to navigate a more complex world and discern fact from falsehood, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Friday (Jul 11). Speaking at a dinner celebrating the 180th anniversary of The Straits Times, he said that Singapore needs trusted media to 'build common ground' in an age of rapid change and complexity. On Friday, the newspaper launched its revamped website and app, as well as an exhibition that explores its 180-year history. Mr Wong attended the celebrations at Jewel Changi alongside Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo and chairman of SPH Media Trust (SMT) Khaw Boon Wan. Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh was also in attendance. The business model for quality journalism is "unfortunately" coming under strain everywhere, said Mr Wong, noting that newsrooms across the world are shrinking and many outlets have 'become captive to commercial interests'. 'We cannot allow that to happen here in Singapore. We do not want our national newspaper to be owned by billionaires with narrow or partisan agendas. Nor do we want public trust in the media to be eroded,' he added. This is why the government is stepping in to support public service media in Singapore to ensure that quality journalism remains 'viable, independent and accountable to Singaporeans', said the prime minister. In February 2022, the government announced it would provide up to S$900 million (US$702 million) in funding support for SMT, which runs the Straits Times, over the next five years. The plan was for up to S$180 million to be disbursed annually, depending on whether SMT met key performance targets. This came after SMT was hived off from Singapore Press Holdings in 2021 to become a not-for-profit entity, amid the steep decline of print media and the migration to the digital space. The Straits Times must make full use of the government support to produce a high-quality national paper for all Singaporeans, said Mr Wong on Friday. 'You have our full confidence and support in this mission.' The Straits Times' competition is global, said Mr Wong, noting that the paper is competing not just with other traditional media outlets, but also with the best content creators worldwide and everything else on screens. The paper must adapt to this new media environment, he said, adding that this will not be easy. 'I believe there will still be a place for print, and we should all do our best to keep print newspapers viable in Singapore for as long as possible,' said Mr Wong. 'But 10 years from now, the printed Straits Times may well look quite different from what it is today, in style, tone and length. It has to be different if it is to remain relevant and useful to future readers.' Only the Straits Times can make these calls on what changes to make and the government is not in a position to prescribe the solution, said the prime minister. Offering 'broad reflections' on what the paper can do to stay relevant in this new environment, Mr Wong urged the Straits Times to build on its strengths as a "trusted anchor" for Singaporeans, keep quality at the core of everything it does and speak with a Singaporean voice to the world. 'As a small country navigating a complex and uncertain world, we need strong and credible institutions that can analyse clearly, explain deeply, and advocate confidently for Singapore's interests. And this is the role that the Straits Times must continue to fulfil,' he said.
