SG Advisory Council formed to create ethical AI and data guidelines

Leaders from Google, Microsoft and Alibaba and many others have been chosen as members for the Singapore’s Advisory Council on the Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data. The 11 members were selected for their ability to contribute to the Advisory Council’s objectives.These members include chairman, operation heads and managing partners from both local and international organisations. These organisations are:GoogleMicrosoftAlibabaDBS BankTemasekJungle VenturesEssex Court Chambers DuxtonParrot SocialSingapore University of Technology and DesignNational Supercomputing Centre Steering CommitteeThe Advisory Council, chaired by former attorney-general V.K. Rajah SC, was formed in a bid to support the engagement of stakeholders to collaboratively develop a trusted AI ecosystem and position Singapore as an AI hub.The Advisory Council will also be tasked to provide advise and work with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) on the responsible development and deployment of AI. Amongst other things, the council will be assisting IMDA in engaging stakeholders on issues that support the development of AI governance capabilities and frameworks.These include engaging ethics boards of commercial enterprises on ethical and related issues arising from private sector use of AI and data such as consumer representatives on consumer expectations, and acceptance of the use of AI. It will also engage members of the private capital community on the need to incorporate ethical considerations in their investment decisions into businesses which develop or adopt AI.In addition to these duties, the Advisory Council will assist the government in developing ethics standards and reference governance frameworks, and publish advisory guidelines, practical guides, and codes of practice for the voluntary adoption by the industry. The advisory council will be able to tap on technical, legal, ethics and international experts from different fields and representatives for consumers and civil society to guide its work.Two new AI initiatives to boost local tech sceneAI Singapore, a national programme set up to boost Singapore's AI capabilities, has launched two programmes - AI for Everyone (AI4E) and AI for Industry (AI4I). The two new initiatives aim to educate Singaporeans about AI, showing them how technology can help in their daily lives, as well as prepare industry professionals to be ready and competitive, and work productively with AI.According to Minister for Communications and Information S. Iswaran, AI4E and AI4I will equip 12,000 Singaporeans over the next three years with AI knowledge, media reports including The Straits Times reported. The two programmes are part of the TechSkills Accelerator, a SkillsFuture initiative driven by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).AI Singapore is driven by a government-wide partnership involving IMDA, the the National Research Foundation (NRF), the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office, the Economic Development Board, SGInnovate and Integrated Health Information Systems. NRF will invest up to SG$150 million over five years in AI Singapore. AI Singapore's key programmes are fundamental research, grand challenges, 100 experiments and AI apprenticeship.