Written Answer · 2026-09-09 · Parliament 15
Measuring Productivity Improvements from Government-supported AI Capability Investments and Key Findings Across Sectors
Ms He Ting Ru asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (Energy and Industry) how the Ministry measures productivity improvements for businesses attributable to Government-supported AI capability investments, and what the key findings are, including a sector breakdown. Dr Tan See Leng replied that for businesses receiving Government support for AI investments, the Government measures improvements in process efficiency and/or labour productivity, with specific indicators depending on the project. Because the support measures are relatively new, there is insufficient data to assess their impact at this point. The Government will also track the rate of AI adoption among businesses and sectoral productivity trends, but it is not possible to isolate the impact of AI, since sectoral productivity is shaped by a combination of factors including demand conditions, workforce skills, management practices and wider digital transformation.
Why it matters
There is not yet enough data to assess Government-funded AI investments, and the Government says AI's impact on sectoral productivity cannot be isolated.
Key Points
- • For businesses receiving Government support for AI investments, the measures are improvements in process efficiency and/or labour productivity, with specific indicators depending on the project
- • As the support measures are relatively new, there is insufficient data to assess their impact; the reply gave no findings or sector breakdown
- • The Government will track the rate of AI adoption among businesses and sectoral productivity trends
- • The Government says AI's impact on sectoral productivity cannot be isolated, because demand conditions, workforce skills, management practices and wider digital transformation all play a part
The Government explained its project-level measures (process efficiency and labour productivity), but gave no findings or sector breakdown on the grounds that the schemes are too new and data is insufficient, and stated plainly that AI's impact cannot be isolated at the sector level.
Questioner Ms He Ting Ru (Workers' Party) wants the Government to account for the actual productivity results of its AI funding, broken down by sector, as a matter of accountability for public money.
While funding business AI investment heavily, the Government admits it has no results to publish yet and considers sector-level attribution methodologically impossible; this suggests future accountability for AI funding will likely rest on project indicators and adoption rates alone.
"As the support measures are relatively new, there is insufficient data to assess their impact at this point."
Participants (2)
Original Text (English)
SPRS Hansard · Fetched: 2026-09-26
46 Ms He Ting Ru asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (Energy and Industry) (a) how does the Ministry measure productivity improvements for businesses attributable to Government-supported artificial intelligence capability investments; and (b) what are the key findings from such measurements, including a breakdown across sectors.
Dr Tan See Leng : For businesses that receive Government support for their artificial intelligence (AI) investments, we measure improvements in process efficiency and/or labour productivity. The specific indicators would depend on the project concerned. As the support measures are relatively new, there is insufficient data to assess their impact at this point.
The Government will also track the rate of AI adoption among businesses as well as sectoral productivity trends. Nonetheless, it would not be possible to isolate the impact of AI as sectoral productivity outcomes are influenced by a combination of factors including demand conditions, workforce skills, management practices and wider digital transformation efforts.