MCI announces AI initiatives in alignment with National AI Strategy, including PDPC Advisory Guidelines on the Use of Personal Data in AI Recommendation and Decision Systems

27 March 2024

On 1 March 2024, the Ministry of Communications and Information (“MCI”) announced several artificial intelligence (“AI”) initiatives to power Singapore’s next round of economic growth. These initiatives are aligned with the refreshed National AI Strategy (“NAIS 2.0”) which was launched in December 2023.

NAIS 2.0 initiatives are structured under people and communities, infrastructure, and the environment via 10 enablers. The initiatives announced by MCI relate to four of these enablers and are set out below.

NAIS 2.0 enablers and initiatives

Talent

• Implementation of an AI Visiting Professorship for world-class AI researchers to collaborate with Singapore;

• AI Accelerated Masters Programme in collaboration with local universities to develop a pipeline of Singaporean AI researchers; and

• AI training opportunities for students over three years, including an increase in AI-related SG Digital scholarships, and access to overseas internships in AI-related roles.

Industry

• Support for companies to build AI Centres of Excellence (“CoEs”);

• Launch of a sectoral CoE for manufacturing to address sector-wide use cases and build domain-specific capabilities;

• Generative AI Sandbox for small and medium-sized enterprises (“SMEs”) to gain hands-on experience with generative AI (“GenAI”);

• Curation of more AI-enabled solutions under SMEs Go Digital; and

• New Generative AI x Digital Leaders Initiative to provide businesses with access to GenAI expertise and resources.

Compute

Singapore will invest up to S$500 million to enhance access to high-performance compute for AI innovation and capability building, to complement industry-led efforts.

Trusted environment

On 1 March 2024, the Personal Data Protection Commission (“PDPC”) issued the Advisory Guidelines on the Use of Personal Data in AI Recommendation and Decision Systems (“Guidelines”) with a view to ensuring that AI is developed and deployed in a safe, trustworthy, and responsible manner.

The Guidelines provide:

• organisations with more clarity on the use of personal data to train or develop AI to support their efforts to implement AI;

• guidance on information to be provided to consumers when seeking consent;

• guidance to third-party developers of bespoke AI systems who may occupy the role of data intermediaries on their obligations under the Personal Data Protection Act 2012 (“PDPA”); and

• guidance on best practices to support businesses in their compliance with the PDPA.

The PDPC will issue guidance on the use of personal data in the context of training or as input in GenAI applications at a later date.

Reference materials

The following materials are available on the MCI website www.mci.gov.sg:

• Press release: Artificial Intelligence (AI) initiatives launched to uplift Singapore’s economic potential

• Annex A: AI Visiting Professorship launched to attract world-class AI researchers

• Annex B: AI Accelerated Masters Programme launched in collaboration with local universities to build up pipeline of Singaporean AI researchers 

• Annex C: IMDA invests over S$20 million over three years to enhance AI practitioner training for students, including scholarships and overseas internships in AI-related roles

• Annex D: IMDA launches Generative AI x Digital Leaders initiative to provide businesses access to GenAI expertise and resources

• Annex E: Singapore invests up to S$500 million into securing high-performance computer resources for AI innovation and capability building 

• Annex F: PDPC publishes finalised Advisory Guidelines on the use of Personal Data in AI Recommendation and Decision Systems

• Advisory Guidelines on Use of Personal Data in AI Recommendation and Decision Systems

• Infographic on AI initiatives