AI Influence Profile

Tan Kiat How

Government

Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information

Parliamentary speeches

Policies championed

AI videos

Positioning

Former CEO of IMDA; oversees the operational rollout of digital economy, AI governance and data centre policy.

About

Tan Kiat How is Singapore’s Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI), one of the key operators turning AI and digital policy into delivery. He often represents MDDI at industry and community events, translating AI governance, digital inclusion and enterprise adoption from ministerial framing into concrete programmes.

In Parliament he has spoken and replied on digital development, AI applications and cybersecurity. This page gathers his parliamentary speeches, addresses, related policies and videos — his role in the execution chain of Singapore’s AI policy.

Official channels

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Parliamentary AI record (7)

By year 2026 · 4 2025 · 1 2024 · 2

By topic AI & National Security · 6 AI Economy & Industry · 4 AI & Employment · 3 AI in Public Sector · 3 AI Infrastructure & Research · 3 AI Safety & Ethics · 3 AI Governance & Regulation · 2 AI in Education · 1

Tighter Controls and Real-time Anomaly Detection for SIM Card Purchases, Re-registration Patterns and GSM Gateway Misuse

2026-05-07 · Parliament 15

AI & National Security AI in Public Sector

Mr Victor Lye asked MDDI whether the Government would consider tighter controls and real-time anomaly detection for bulk SIM card purchases, SIM re-registration patterns and GSM gateway misuse, given their role in making overseas scam calls appear local. Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How replied that upstream controls are already in place: from 1 October 2025 scam mules are barred from new mobile lines, and from 28 February 2026 each person is capped at 10 postpaid SIMs across all telcos (on top of the existing three-prepaid cap), while in 2025 the Police disrupted over 105,000 scam-related mobile lines. IMDA, GovTech and the Police use data analytics to detect suspicious purchase and registration patterns. Mr Lye pressed on whether there is real-time monitoring and who sets the thresholds. Mr Tan stressed this is a multi-agency and whole-of-society effort with the private sector, cited the saying (a Chinese proverb about defenders and adversaries perpetually escalating against one another) to explain that thresholds are adjusted dynamically, and — citing operational security — declined to share details while confirming the use of technology and data analytics, including AI. He noted phone-as-first-contact cases have fallen and SMS-as-first-contact cases dropped about 65% (from 1,285 in 2024 to 450 in 2025), and introduced SIMCardHowMany, a tool jointly built by IMDA and GovTech for the public to check how many postpaid SIMs are registered in their name.

Response to Risks from Frontier AI Models with Potential to Steal Data, Disrupt Critical Infrastructure and Exploit Software Vulnerabilities

2026-05-05 · Parliament 15

AI & National Security AI Safety & Ethics AI Governance & Regulation

Mr Saktiandi Supaat and Mr Edward Chia asked MDDI about the threat that frontier AI models — naming Anthropic's Mythos, which can autonomously identify and exploit software vulnerabilities — pose to Singapore's financial system and critical infrastructure, and whether this constitutes a new class of systemic financial risk. Replying for the Minister, Senior Minister of State Mr Tan Kiat How framed it as a continuum rather than a step change: the Government has no access to Mythos (Anthropic released it only to a limited set of partners under controlled preview, with no local bank granted access), but OpenAI's GPT-5.5 already shows comparable cyber capabilities and is more widely available, and open-source models will likely catch up within months. He cited evidence that AI is already changing attacks — Google's 2025 report on PROMPTFLUX malware, which consults a live AI model mid-attack to rewrite its own code and evade detection, and a 2024 case where criminals used an AI-generated deepfake video call to impersonate a multinational's CFO and trick an employee into transferring US$25.6 million. The Government characterises this as an amplification of an existing systemic risk, not a wholly new category. Concrete actions: MAS has convened the CEOs of major financial institutions to drive collective cyber-resilience action; and CSA issued a letter that day to the boards and senior leadership of all 11 critical information infrastructure (CII) sectors, requiring a review of cyber risk posture in light of AI-enabled threats. Mr Tan set out five priorities (revisit risk assessments, know your assets, patch faster with continuous monitoring, govern your own AI use, and use AI in defence), stressing that the Government is building AI cyber-defence capabilities in-house to avoid dependence on any single external party.

MDDI Committee of Supply 2026 — AI as Strategic Advantage

2026-03-02 · Parliament 15

AI Governance & Regulation AI & Employment AI in Public Sector AI & National Security AI Safety & Ethics

The most AI-intensive debate in Budget 2026. The MDDI GPC delivered coordinated scrutiny across six themes: AI value proposition, digital capabilities, ethical governance, inclusive growth, infrastructure and cybersecurity, and a high-trust digital society. Minister Josephine Teo announced: (1) support for 100,000 workers to become "AI bilingual", starting with accountancy and legal professions and scaled via TeSA; (2) the world's first Model Governance Framework for Agentic AI; (3) Singapore will host the second International Scientific Exchange on AI Safety to update the "Singapore Consensus"; (4) targeted action to close the SME AI gap so that frontier firms do not pull away. MP focus areas: deepfake regulation (Christopher de Souza), AI media literacy (Fadli Fawzi), data centre investment competition, AI impact on PMEs, and cybersecurity against AI-enabled threats.

Projected Expenditure on Government's Pursuit of Global Leadership in Growth Areas and AI-empowered Economy

2026-02-12 · Parliament 15

AI Economy & Industry AI & Employment AI & National Security AI Infrastructure & Research

MPs questioned the government's budget plans to push AI economy and global leadership, and probed whether a state-owned AI corporation should be set up to protect data sovereignty and the public interest. The government responded with National AI Strategy 2.0, emphasising data security, technical performance, and international cooperation. The core debate: how to prevent global tech giants from dominating Singapore's AI market, avoid data leakage and tech dependency, and regulate foreign use of public data including how returns are shared.

Committee of Supply – Head Q (Ministry of Digital Development and Information)

2025-03-07 · Parliament 14

AI Economy & Industry AI Infrastructure & Research AI in Public Sector

MPs asked about digital infrastructure resilience and security safeguards, focusing on cloud and data centre security guidelines. The government emphasised the strong growth of Singapore's digital economy and the issuance of guidance to lift infrastructure security, ensuring digital transformation is sustainable and inclusive. The core debate: how to further strengthen infrastructure against round-the-clock operational risks.

Progress of Developing IT and AI Professionals through Career Conversion Programmes

2024-11-13 · Parliament 14

AI Economy & Industry AI & Employment AI in Education AI & National Security

An MP asked about progress over the past three years in developing IT and AI professionals through Career Conversion Programmes, plus plans for the next three to five years. The government cited training results from SkillsFuture and CCPs, emphasising expanded mid-career training and industry partnerships. MPs focused on the gap between current AI professional numbers and targets, and on private-sector participation — reflecting the core debate over training scale versus targets.

Committee of Supply – Head Q (Ministry of Communications and Information)

2024-03-01 · Parliament 14

AI Safety & Ethics AI Economy & Industry AI & National Security AI Infrastructure & Research

MPs asked how Singapore will strengthen digital infrastructure and talent development in the AI era, stressing that AI brings both opportunity and risk and that humans must remain in control. The government replied that it will keep stepping up investment, drive National AI Strategy 2.0, lift network speeds and compute, and safeguard digital trust. The core debate: balance between tech progress and safety/ethics, and whether investment is sufficient.

Positioning

About

Official channels

Parliamentary AI record (7)

Tighter Controls and Real-time Anomaly Detection for SIM Card Purchases, Re-registration Patterns and GSM Gateway Misuse

Response to Risks from Frontier AI Models with Potential to Steal Data, Disrupt Critical Infrastructure and Exploit Software Vulnerabilities

MDDI Committee of Supply 2026 — AI as Strategic Advantage

Projected Expenditure on Government's Pursuit of Global Leadership in Growth Areas and AI-empowered Economy

Committee of Supply – Head Q (Ministry of Digital Development and Information)

Progress of Developing IT and AI Professionals through Career Conversion Programmes

Committee of Supply – Head Q (Ministry of Communications and Information)

Speeches (42)

Speech by SMS Tan Kiat How at Launch of Digital Content & Capability Development Programme

Address by SMS Tan Kiat How at the ATxEnterprise 2026 Opening Ceremony

SMS Tan Kiat How’s Opening Address at SCS Gala Dinner & Tech Leader Awards 2026

Opening Address by SMS Tan Kiat How at STACKx Cybersecurity Conference 2026

Transcript of SMS Tan Kiat How's Keynote Speech at Singapore Computer Society (SCS) AI Conference

Remarks by SMS Tan Kiat How at Mediacorp’s Career Forward 2026

Keynote Address by SMS Tan Kiat How at SAP d-com

Speech by SMS Tan Kiat How at Launch of Singtel Digital InfraCo - NVIDIA Centre of Excellence for Applied AI

Opening Address by SMS Tan Kiat How at Asia TV Forum & Market Singapore on 3 Dec 2025

Opening Remarks by SMS Tan Kiat How At SEA-LION Summit 2025

Opening Address by SMS Tan Kiat How At EuroCham AI Summit 2025

Keynote Address by SMS Tan Kiat How at Compact AI Symposium 2025

Opening Remarks by SMS Tan Kiat How at One Univers

Opening Remarks by SMS Tan Kiat How at AmChamSG Balestier Series

Speech by SMS Tan Kiat How at Singapore Computer Society Splash Forum 2025

Opening remarks by SMS Tan Kiat How at the Singapore AI Capture-The-Flag event

Opening Address by SMS Tan Kiat How at Tech Week Singapore 2025

Opening Address by SMS Tan Kiat How at SMEs Go Digital Day 2025

Welcome Address by SMS Tan Kiat How at MDDI Family Joint Scholarship Ceremony 2025

Speech by SMS Tan Kiat How at NUS School of Computing 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner

Opening Address by SMS Tan Kiat How at Sustainable AI Data Centre Career Day

Speech by SMS Tan Kiat How at DBS Live Fulfilled Carnival

Speech by SMS Tan Kiat How at the 12th International Conference on Materials for Advanced Technology

Opening Keynote by SMS Tan Kiat How at ATxSummit Day 2

Opening Keynote by SMS Tan Kiat How at ATxEnterprise 2025

Speech by SMS Tan Kiat How at Design AI and Tech Awards 2025

Opening Remarks by SMS Tan Kiat How at Launch of Expanded Cyber Essentials and Cyber Trust Marks

Opening Address by SMS Tan Kiat How at AI Health World Summit 2025

Speech by SMS Tan Kiat How at the Committee of Supply Debate 2025

Opening Address by SMS Tan Kiat How at the Artificial Intelligence Festival Asia

Speech by SMS Tan Kiat How at Launch of the DBS Spark GenAI programme

Speech by SMS Tan Kiat How at HCLTech's AI Lab Media Launch event

Speech by SMS Mr Tan Kiat How at Singapore Computer Society Splash Forum

Opening Address by SMS Tan Kiat How at Launch of Centre of AI in Medicine

Speech by SMS Tan Kiat How at the Data and AI World Tour Singapore

Speech by SMS Tan Kiat How at the Singapore Press Club Press Ball and Awards Night

Opening Keynote by SMS Tan Kiat How at ATxEnterprise

Opening Remarks by SMS Tan Kiat How at IMDAxMicrosoft Luncheon

Speech by SMS Tan Kiat How at the Committee of Supply Debate 2024

Speech by SMS Tan Kiat How at Legal Industry Digital Plan (IDP) Launch Event

Speech by SMS Tan Kiat How at the Business China's Singapore Digital Economy Roundtable

Speech by MOS Tan Kiat How at Singapore Computer Society's Splash Awards 2021

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