預算辯論 · 2026-03-02 · 屆國會 15
2026數字發展與信息部供給委員會辯論：AI作為戰略優勢
這是2026年預算案中AI議題最集中的辯論。MDDI GPC圍繞六大主題進行協調審議：AI價值主張、數字能力建設、倫理治理、包容性增長、基礎設施與網路安全、高信任數字社會。部長尤芳達(Mrs Josephine Teo)宣佈：(1)支援10萬名工人成為"AI雙語人才"，從會計和法律行業開始，通過TeSA專案擴充套件；(2)釋出全球首個《自主智慧體AI治理框架》(Model Governance Framework for Agentic AI)；(3)新加坡將主辦第二屆國際AI安全科學交流大會，更新"新加坡共識"；(4)著力解決中小企業AI落差問題，避免大企業拉遠距離。議員關注焦點包括：深偽技術監管(Christopher de Souza)、AI媒體素養(Fadli Fawzi)、資料中心投資競爭、AI對PME的衝擊、網路安全應對AI威脅等。
關鍵要點
- • 10萬工人"AI雙語"計劃
- • 全球首個自主智慧體AI治理框架
- • 第二屆國際AI安全科學交流大會
- • 中小企業AI落差是核心關注
- • 深偽監管與AI媒體素養
- • 網路安全應對AI威脅
積極推動AI民主化，強調中小企業普惠與風險治理並行
He Ting Ru關注AI對弱勢群體的影響和公共資訊架構的韌性
AI治理從原則走向具體行動，自主智慧體框架開全球先河
“Not all of us can be AI engineers. But we can be "bilingual" in AI in our own areas of expertise.”
參與人員 (11)
完整譯文（中文）
Hansard 原始記錄 · 2026-05-02
主席：數字發展與信息部（MDDI）Q組負責人。沙拉爾·塔哈先生。
下午3時17分
將人工智慧作為戰略優勢
沙拉爾·塔哈先生（巴西立-樟宜選區）：謝謝主席先生。主席先生，我提議，“將預算中Q組的總撥款減少100元”。
主席先生，人工智慧（AI）在本預算中佔據顯著位置，本議院早已認識到其重要性。從2019年的國家人工智慧戰略到2023年的國家人工智慧戰略2.0（NAIS 2.0），我們已從試驗階段邁向規模化。MDDI政府議會委員會（GPC）一直在六個關鍵主題上積極推動。我們今天的削減反映了協調一致的審查。
首先，加強新加坡的人工智慧價值主張。我的削減旨在澄清我們的全球競爭優勢以及國家人工智慧理事會的角色，而朱佩玲博士和陳潔儀女士將推動實現可衡量的成果，而不僅僅是技術活動。
第二，建設深厚且廣泛的數字能力。郭振輝先生、朱佩玲博士、李嘉欣女士和我將就如何在勞動力中推廣人工智慧技能，以及如何幫助跨國企業（MNEs）和中小企業（SMEs）有意義地採用人工智慧提出削減建議。
第三，確保倫理數字治理。蘇世民先生、陳潔儀女士、田佩玲女士和我將就監管保障和問責框架提出削減建議，以確保倫理和負責任的增長，尤其是在我們邁向更自主、具代理性的人工智慧系統時。
第四，通過技術實現包容性增長並提升弱勢群體。李嘉欣女士和我將就為應屆畢業生、青年、長者和低收入群體創造機會提出削減建議，以便技術能夠擴大機會。
第五，投資基礎設施和網路安全。陳潔儀女士和我將審視我們如何在日益複雜的人工智慧驅動威脅中加強網路安全態勢。
第六，建設高信任的數字社會。田佩玲女士和陳潔儀女士將就信任、安全以及防範詐騙、深度偽造和網路危害提出削減建議。
這些削減反映了我們GPC的審慎、一致和堅持，與部委共同推動工作，保障新加坡的數字未來。
主席先生，請允許我從第一個削減開始，關於加強新加坡在全球人工智慧領域的價值主張及保持全球市場相關性。
主席先生，全球人工智慧競賽急劇加速。在最近的全球人工智慧峰會上，顯然我們已進入由大規模計算和多模態能力驅動的前沿和基礎模型時代。
生成式人工智慧（GenAI）不再是實驗性質。它已嵌入企業、公共服務和國家系統。向具代理性的人工智慧和人工智慧原生企業的轉變標誌著結構性變革。
這種變革在三個層面展開。首先，人口規模。在中國，人工智慧整合於服務數億人的平臺。在美國，人工智慧助手嵌入全球使用的生產力工具中。在印度，人工智慧融入國家規模的電信和數字服務。人工智慧已成為日常工作流程的一部分。
第二，計算規模。競賽不僅僅是計算主導權。下一代晶片正以前所未有的數量被訂購。超級規模雲服務商在資料中心投資數十億美元。印度宣佈吸引高達2000億美元的人工智慧和資料中心投資的雄心，中東和歐盟則在確保主權計算能力。晶片、資料中心和能源現已成為戰略基礎設施。
第三，產業規模。人工智慧嵌入製造、物流、國防和能源系統。這關乎產業競爭力和國家能力。隨著能力加速，責任必須同步。安全對齊評估和紅隊測試至關重要。信任將決定誰能實現規模化。
新加坡無法在人口規模或計算規模上競爭，但我們可以在精準度、信任、監管信譽和深度行業整合上競爭。這不僅關乎技術，更關乎就業和國家競爭力。
新加坡在全球人工智慧格局中的獨特價值主張是什麼？我們如何與美國、中國和印度等人工智慧巨頭的人口規模、計算規模和產業規模競爭？我們如何利用我們的高信任治理、監管信譽和深度行業集中度？
因此，我歡迎國家人工智慧理事會的成立。
為了成功，明確的授權和執行能力至關重要。它的具體角色是什麼？它是否擁有執行權，監督跨部委實施，還是僅作為諮詢機構？
在快速發展的人工智慧競賽中，結構必須引導果斷行動。理事會如何整合貿易與工業部（MTI）下的經濟戰略與MDDI下的數字治理，以確保協調交付？
國家人工智慧戰略2.0（NAIS 2.0）於2023年釋出。取得了哪些進展？理事會會在此基礎上加強，而非重複或削弱現有努力嗎？當優先事項發生衝突時，如何解決跨機構摩擦？
最後，理事會如何保持與產業現實的聯絡？產業領袖會支援併成為理事會成員嗎？中小企業會有實質性發言權嗎？
因此，我支援集中資源聚焦國家人工智慧使命，並有人工智慧的推動者加速部署。但我希望向部委尋求澄清。
政府如何確定國家人工智慧使命的四個關鍵行業？使用了哪些標準？這些使命的成功如何定義？必須超越試點，達到可衡量的真實經濟和社會成果。隨著步伐加快，我們何時考慮擴充套件更多使命？我希望是在幾個月內。
最後，我們如何定義和衡量人工智慧推動者在能力、採用、全球競爭力以及對就業和生產力的實際影響方面的成功？
最後一點。為了在全球人工智慧供應鏈中保持相關性，我們必須為計算基礎設施做好準備。
我們發展更多計算能力的計劃是什麼？鑑於地緣政治緊張局勢，我們不能僅依賴海外支援的計算需求。我們擁有多少主權人工智慧計算能力？如何減少對他人計算能力的依賴？此外，我們支援人工智慧規模化資料中心的清潔或可再生能源戰略是什麼？
（程式文本）提案問題。（程式文本）
主席：沙拉爾·塔哈先生。您可以將三個削減一併提出。
將人工智慧作為戰略優勢
沙拉爾·塔哈先生：謝謝主席先生。如果新加坡要將人工智慧作為戰略優勢，必須同步推進三大推動力——深厚且廣泛的勞動力能力、廣泛的企業採用（包括中小企業）以及強有力的倫理治理。政府已推出多項資助計劃，包括技術長（CTO）即服務。我們在加速人工智慧轉型方面取得了哪些可衡量的進展？存在哪些差距？
（副議長謝耀權先生主持）
釋放人工智慧價值不僅僅需要工具，還需要重新設計業務流程和重新定義運營模式。我們如何幫助企業將人工智慧整合到核心工作流程，打造人工智慧準備團隊，並實現切實的生產力提升？
對於中小企業，存在三大制約因素：人才成本、缺乏驗證的用例和整合複雜性。如果人工智慧採用僅集中於大型企業，中小企業的生產力和工資差距將擴大。我們必須從諮詢支援轉向共享能力基礎設施。
因此，我提出三項改進建議。
第一，將我們的CTO即服務發展為人工智慧能力即服務，派遣集中調配的人工智慧工程師團隊，跨中小企業叢集部署解決方案，進行實操實施。第二，開發共享行業平臺，共同建立即插即用的人工智慧模型，用於質量控制和物流最佳化等通用功能，幫助降低實驗成本，特別是對中小企業。第三，引入與成果掛鉤的共同資助，關聯可衡量的生產力、出口增長或能源效率成果。人工智慧基礎設施應被視為共享的物理資源，使我們的中小企業能夠通過敏捷性而非規模競爭。
除了企業之外，勞動力發展也至關重要。通過諸如TeSA等專案，我們在培養深度人工智慧專業知識方面取得了哪些進展？在提升更廣泛勞動力的人工智慧素養方面又有哪些成效？人工智慧如何為老年人、應屆畢業生以及重返職場的女性拓寬機會？我們能否為老年人創造結構化路徑，使他們能夠有意義地使用人工智慧工具？隨著入門級崗位被顛覆，我們如何重新設計工作和學徒計劃，使畢業生既獲得技術技能，也具備商業背景知識？
最後，隨著具備自主性的智慧代理系統日益增多，我們如何確保其倫理和安全部署？
人工智慧在倫理上明顯有益的領域有很多——例如協助醫生診斷、檢測金融欺詐、最佳化能源消耗或支援老年人日常生活。但也有不可逾越的界限，比如國防領域的自主致命決策、操控性行為定向、不透明的信用評分加劇偏見，或人工智慧代理在無責任追究的情況下做出就業決策。
當智慧代理系統以有限透明度執行，目標不斷演變，甚至出現開發者難以完全預測的新興行為時，挑戰更加複雜。發生損害時，最終責任由誰承擔？是開發者、部署者還是操作員？將強制實施何種治理框架、審計要求、紅隊測試標準和可解釋性門檻，以確保信任與能力同步提升？
數字公益
主席先生，隨著人工智慧和數字化轉型的推進，我們如何確保技術真正成為一股向善的力量？
首先，政府如何加強關鍵服務的數字化交付，特別是針對視覺障礙等特殊需求人士？我們的系統是否從設計上包容多樣性？其次，隨著社會老齡化，數字和人工智慧解決方案如何更好地支援老年人，同時減輕“夾心層”家庭的負擔？第三，如何確保低收入家庭的兒童不僅能獲得裝置，還能掌握人工智慧技能並獲得相關機會？最後，如何加強數字空間的信任，更好地保護新加坡人免受詐騙和網路傷害？
技術不能加劇分化，必須提升、保護並賦能每一位新加坡人。
加強我們的網路安全態勢
網路威脅不再是孤立事件。它們持續存在、不斷適應，且越來越多地藉助人工智慧。隨著人工智慧系統變得更具自主性，我們必須面對一類新風險——能夠獨立規劃、偵察和行動的人工智慧代理。
MDDI如何應對惡意行為者利用人工智慧自動化偵察、策劃複雜釣魚攻擊或大規模利用漏洞的威脅？
下午3點30分
新加坡曾遭遇過安全漏洞。2018年SingHealth網路攻擊事件洩露了150萬患者資料。最近有報道稱，與新加坡關鍵基礎設施相關的255家公司遭到針對性攻擊，勒索軟體事件擾亂了醫療叢集和第三方供應商。去年，一起影響關鍵基礎資訊基礎設施（CII）運營商的網路事件提醒我們，從能源到交通，我們的關鍵基礎設施仍是主要攻擊目標。
高階持續威脅（APT）耐心且資源充足，可能與國家有關聯。他們不僅尋求破壞，更謀求戰略槓桿。那麼，我們如何加強國家網路安全態勢以防禦APT？我們是否在威脅情報融合、即時監控和跨部門事件響應方面投入充足？
關於關鍵基礎設施，法規必須跟上威脅演變。政府將如何加強對關鍵基礎設施運營商的網路安全要求？除了合規之外，將提供哪些工具、共享平臺和人工智慧驅動的檢測能力，幫助運營商防禦複雜攻擊？
同樣重要的是，鑑於供應鏈脆弱性，我們如何加強不僅關鍵基礎設施所有者，還包括其供應商和網路安全服務提供商的安全態勢？
最後，網路安全歸根結底是關於人的。我們如何擴大和深化網路安全人才隊伍，以應對當今威脅？我們是否加快了專業培訓、中年職業轉換和高階人工智慧安全整合技能的培養？隨著人工智慧既成為威脅因素又是防禦工具，我們如何支援組織負責任且有效地採用人工智慧驅動的網路安全解決方案？
在數字衝突日益升級的世界中，韌性不是可選項。數字經濟的信任依賴於我們的防禦能力。我們必須確保新加坡大規模數字化的同時，網路安全態勢同步增強。
網路防禦
嚴彥松議員（阿裕尼） ：主席先生，2026年2月9日，政府披露新加坡主要電信運營商去年遭到UNC3886組織發起的複雜網路間諜活動攻擊。這類入侵清楚地提醒我們，數字戰場已擴充套件為戰略破壞的戰區，APT行為者預置惡意程式碼，潛伏多年，設計在危機時刻啟用，觸發停電或擾亂交通和支付系統。
對新加坡而言，這直接威脅國家生存，因為對民用電信、支付系統和交通網路的協調破壞將直接削弱新加坡武裝部隊快速動員和部署部隊的能力。雖然遏制UNC3886展示了我們的技術能力，但我們必須利用這一能力發出明確後果訊號。政府應與國際夥伴合作，傳達戰略紅線，明確表示在關鍵基礎設施中預置惡意程式碼是不可接受的挑釁。我們必須利用歸因能力直接點名此類行為者，同時謹慎權衡點名國家關聯組織的外交敏感性。我們應朝著通過精準訊號和校準反制威脅實現主動威懾的態勢邁進。如此一來，在遵守國際法的前提下，我們可以避免意外升級。最終，我們必須有效改變潛在侵略者的成本收益計算。
量子安全密碼學解決方案——為何背離全球共識
張文健議員（阿裕尼） ：主席先生，新加坡的立場與全球共識背道而馳。2024年1月，法國、德國、荷蘭和瑞典的網路安全機構聯合評估量子金鑰分發（QKD），結論是：QKD尚未成熟，僅適用於小眾用例。他們表示：“遷移到後量子密碼學（PQC）優先於使用QKD。”
PQC優先不僅是美國立場。PQC演算法由歐洲研究人員構建，備選演算法完全由法國開發。來自25個國家的82個候選演算法經過8年公開密碼分析。德國於2020年釋出PQC遷移指南，早於標準最終確定4年。澳大利亞計劃於2030年停止使用經典公鑰密碼學；日本為2035年；18個歐盟國家去年11月簽署了PQC承諾，未提及QKD。PQC是軟體，可部署於現有基礎設施。蘋果通過iOS更新向13億裝置推送PQC，谷歌為34億Chrome使用者啟用，Cloudflare自2023年底起保護全球20%網路流量。無需新光纖，無需專用硬體，僅軟體更新。
沒有PQC，敵手今天收集資料，明天解密。
新加坡立場相反。我們正在擴充套件國家量子安全網路，配備專用QKD光纖，卻沒有設定PQC遷移截止日期。只有新加坡和中國將QKD作為國家基礎設施擴充套件，而非視為小眾研究試點。我們的旗艦量子衍生企業將QKD技術賣回政府，政府為其提供資金。
我想問，為什麼QKD與PQC的平衡與其他可比國家相反？許多新加坡量子研究人員對此持懷疑態度，他們應得到問責。部長是否會披露量子安全預算在QKD和PQC之間的分配情況，以及新加坡何時會設定PQC遷移截止日期？
主席 ：何亭如女士，您可以將三次發言合併進行。
不雅人工智慧內容
何庭如女士（盛港選區）：主席先生，即將頒佈的《網路安全（救濟與問責）法案》加強了對不雅網路內容受害者的支援。信息通信媒體發展局（IMDA）一直在與X平臺就Grok生成未經同意的親密影像並在X平臺大量傳播一事進行接觸。IMDA表示，X已採取措施解決該問題，包括阻止Grok製作此類內容。即使我們確保科技平臺的運營環境不過於限制，政府能否進一步說明與X接觸的結果？對此事是否採取了任何懲罰性措施？自從推出“辣味模式”功能後，Grok今年一月躍升至新加坡蘋果應用商店免費應用前25名。
其次，我在去年的供應委員會（COS）發言中引用過，有報道稱學生生成了同學的深度偽造新聞，並在WhatsApp群組中分享。因此，我們必須解決真正的問題。即現有且日益增長的對性化影像的需求，而這種需求因可訪問性而加劇。
鑑於大多數受害者是女性和兒童，增加的可訪問性對這些群體施加了更大壓力。我們必須做更多工作來教育青少年如何使用人工智慧，尤其是在小學四年級就開始接觸人工智慧。鑑於對兒童如何處理人工智慧的擔憂，教育部（MOE）的性教育方法和人工智慧框架如何明確涵蓋這一問題？教育部如何調節學生與人工智慧聊天機器人的情感互動？
這些影像與新加坡年輕人發展的關係尤為相關，因為平臺正努力變得更具吸引力。除了現有立法外，可能還會出現更多關注點，例如不涉及特定受害者但具有社會關注的內容，如人工智慧生成的兒童色情內容。
社交媒體與兒童
主席先生，孩子在睡覺時間還在無休止地刷屏，並非出於選擇，而是在回應一個設計得幾乎無法停止的系統。現行的年齡認證評估、《網路安全（救濟與問責）法案》和網路安全行為準則代表了保護兒童網路安全的共同努力。今天，我想問的是，這些措施是否解決了一個尚未解決的區別——內容傷害與設計傷害的區別。
新加坡對此已有認識。聖淘沙和濱海灣金沙賭場的監管通過入場費、排除令和訪問限制等措施建立了刻意的阻力。這認識到需要行為設計的干預，而不僅僅是提供更好的風險資訊。在社交媒體平臺上，無限滾動、自動播放影片和演算法推薦是吸引注意力的“黑暗模式”，旨在通過利用尋求獎勵的心理並削弱大腦尚在發育的兒童的自我調節能力來最大化參與度。
上個月，歐盟委員會初步認定TikTok的成癮性設計本身構成法律違規。TikTok被納入我們自己的行為準則，委員會發現其螢幕時間工具和家長控制未能有效應對這些風險。新加坡對此保持沉默，增加了聲譽風險。上週《自然健康》雜誌發表文章指出，我們必須讓平臺對其成癮性設計負責。這些平臺利用兒童的大腦，削弱兒童的自我調節能力。因此，問題是我們是否應允許平臺對兒童部署吸引注意力的“黑暗模式”而不承擔法律後果。
部長能否澄清三點？一、行為準則是否要求指定服務提交設計風險評估，涵蓋推薦系統、自動播放和滾動架構？IMDA是否有權獨立於內容分類對這些評估採取行動？如果有，我們是否會承諾一個時間表？
二、鑑於對TikTok成癮性設計的發現，IMDA是否已據此審查TikTok的合規報告？
三、教育部是否會考慮我上週提出的建議，成立特別委員會更好地審視全球保護兒童免受社交媒體傷害的努力，尤其是在全面禁止兒童使用社交媒體的呼聲日益高漲的背景下？兒童及其家長應獲得一個框架，使平臺不僅對其展示的內容負責，也對其構建方式負責。數字環境不會自行形成，它們是被設計的，而設計若不受監管，便成為預設政策。
信天翁檔案的教訓
主席先生，歷史不是單一維度的。它不斷等待通過獲取更多資訊而得到補充。對過去的瞭解對塑造我們當前的思考和行動方式具有重要意義。解密對這一過程至關重要。當錯誤資訊、誤導資訊、混淆和不確定性出現時，更可信且可獨立驗證的資訊尤為關鍵。透明度不僅僅是為了透明而透明。
最近獲得的信天翁檔案強調了與馬來西亞分離是雙方協議的事實。這使我們有可能超越圍繞被逐出新加坡的創傷歷史敘述，推動與我們最親近鄰國的關係發展。
在其他地方，公開愛潑斯坦檔案使世界上一些最富有和最有權勢的人被追究不當行為責任，並導致安德魯·蒙巴頓·溫莎和彼得·曼德爾森等人被逮捕。無論問題多麼嚴重或平凡，訪問和問責在相關人員仍在世時尤為重要。
張玉娟部長表示，在決定是否開放公共檔案時，國家機構會考慮，引用其話：“支援對我們集體過去的研究，同時保護敏感資訊並遵守相關保密及其他義務。”
我們應增加時間表，要求國家機構和政治權力接受公眾問責，避免混淆和誤傳。我們承諾追求民主。在民主制度中，國家行為需要對其服務的公眾及其資金來源負責。公開無法辯護的立場和行為不應被採取。因此，這些決定必須隨時準備接受公眾審查。知曉這一可能性會促使更大的謹慎和責任感。
主席：法茲利·法烏茲先生，請將您的兩段發言合併。
人工智慧與媒體素養
法茲利·法烏茲先生（亞歷山大選區）：主席先生，隨著2026年預算推動新加坡的人工智慧雄心，我們必須面對越來越多的新加坡人以前所未有的規模和速度接觸到人工智慧生成的虛假資訊和人工智慧驅動的詐騙。2月5日《聯合早報》報道了一波聲稱總理黃循財被迫下臺及激烈內部權力鬥爭的影片激增。
這些影片完全由人工智慧在幾分鐘內生成，據稱每個20分鐘影片成本僅為1至2美元。MDDI承認已觀察到多個網路賬戶釋出關於新加坡國內政治的此類捏造言論。MDDI發言人向《早報》表示，已推出公眾教育措施和資源，敦促公眾依賴官方渠道，避免分享未經核實的內容。
我歡迎這一回應，但我想知道這些措施是否足夠。鑑於人工智慧生成虛假資訊的規模和複雜性，為什麼不對這些影片背後的人使用《防止網路虛假資訊和操縱法》（POFMA）？僅靠POFMA等執法工具也無法使社會免疫於虛假資訊。我們需要一個能夠質疑、核實和批判性評估網路資訊的民眾。
教育部將開發哪些結構化的長期專案來加強媒體素養和批判性思維，尤其是在老年人等弱勢群體中？我們是否會擴大社群工作坊、學校課程和公共宣傳，教授公民實用的核實步驟，如檢查原始影片、審查來源和諮詢權威渠道？我們能否利用人工智慧本身來幫助大規模篩選和標記可疑內容？
如果人工智慧將欺騙成本降至每個影片1美元，那麼不作為的代價可能更高。我們的國家人工智慧戰略將如何確保新加坡人有能力在日益汙染的資訊生態中辨別事實與虛構？
解密與國家歷史
先生，最近解密的《信天翁檔案》改變了我們對分離的理解。幾十年來，圍繞新加坡獨立的官方敘述是，我們被聯邦政府突然且單方面地驅逐出馬來西亞。這個故事塑造了幾代新加坡人對我們國家建國的理解。
然而，《信天翁檔案》與流行的敘述有所不同。檔案顯示，在1964年7月種族騷亂之後，人民行動黨與馬來西亞聯盟黨之間已經開始了關於馬來西亞內部可能的憲法調整的機密談判。這些討論最終導致了分離。
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這一發現並不削弱我們的歷史，它表明歷史往往比我們想象的更復雜，並豐富了我們對歷史的理解。但為什麼這一具有歷史意義的資料遲遲未被公開？還有多少重要記錄仍然無法獲取？
最近解密的《信天翁檔案》說明了為何需要《資訊自由法》和自動解密制度。工人黨長期呼籲制定《資訊自由法》，最近一次是在我們2025年大選宣言中。這一呼籲基於一個簡單原則——我們信任新加坡人擁有必要的資訊以監督政府。
公民應在《資訊自由法》下有權提出請求，並獲得公共機構所持有的、請求的詳細程度的資訊。政府持有的任何能夠促進公共辯論的資料或記錄，也應在25年後自動解密並向公眾開放，當然前提是符合合法的國家安全考慮。
如果沒有《資訊自由法》和25年後自動解密的框架，政府將不會被迫審查和釋出資訊，基礎性的真相可能會無限期地被掩埋。
事實和解密檔案可能被挑選以支援特定敘述。這不是我們希望的新加坡。《資訊自由法》和自動解密將把舉證責任從公民轉移到政府。政府必須證明為何需要保密，而不是公民證明好奇心。這賦予歷史學家、記者、公民社會和普通新加坡人監督以他們名義作出的決策的權力。
一個成熟的國家不懼怕自己的檔案。我相信工人黨提出的建議將加強我們的國家認同，而非削弱。當國家認同建立在事實基礎上，即使這些事實複雜或令人不適時，我們才真正建立了國家認同。如果我們真正相信問責治理和知情公民，那麼是時候將公眾知情權寫入法律。
主席：Christopher de Souza先生，請將您的兩段發言合併。
歷史展覽的巨大價值
Christopher de Souza先生（荷蘭-武吉知馬）：MDDI的核心職責之一是塑造新加坡人的歷史敘述，確保我們的國家歷史基石準確、有原則且紮實。在這方面，我要對最近關於《信天翁檔案》的展覽及其背後的團隊表示強烈支援，他們值得表揚。
該展覽出色地聚焦了獨立新加坡誕生的環境、1963年至1965年的時代壓力以及我們領導人面臨的艱難權衡。
理解這段歷史不是學術練習。展覽如同指南針，展示了決策如何堅定地基於原則，同時兼具深刻的務實精神。面對生存的不確定性，我們的先驅者堅定不移，做出艱難選擇，逆境中建設國家。這些危機中的決策塑造了獨立新加坡的基因。
類似的展覽還有空間，比如關於COVID-19。畢竟，這場疫情是新加坡獨立後歷史中的一個近期且決定性的時刻。那些深夜的決策、疫苗採購選擇、保護生命和生計，以及我們在2020至2022年間在本議院進行的多次辯論，還有振興新加坡航空。這是一代人的危機，我們共同克服。
過去危機中的決策塑造了國家的基因，併為新加坡的未來提供了穩定和方向。決策過程應被展示。應通過更多展覽汲取經驗教訓，比如關於COVID-19危機的展覽。
人工智慧——創新中的辨別力
先生，人工智慧具有明顯優勢。它可以消化並總結大量知識，但歸根結底，人工智慧是工具。它不能成為主宰。它不會進行道德判斷。
因此，在擁抱人工智慧時，我們必須保持辨別力。我們應在人工智慧促進決策的範圍內使用它，但不能讓它取代我們的決策。
創新不能以侵犯現有智慧財產權為代價。在這裡，先生，請允許我宣告，我是私人律師事務所的合夥人，專注於智慧財產權法並提供人工智慧法律諮詢。
規則至關重要。在我看來，必須有明確的界限標誌，禁止深度偽造、深度偽造色情、詐騙、欺騙、虛假陳述以及侵犯某些受保護的智慧財產權。如果新加坡能成為人工智慧採用的引擎，同時保持其作為可信智慧財產權中心的地位，我們就找到了正確的平衡。
簡而言之，為了在不削弱人類思維的情況下明智地平衡人工智慧的益處，我們必須確保人工智慧始終是工具，而非主宰。
人工智慧時代重新設計入門級崗位
Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik先生（盛港）：主席，政府已投入大量資金支援產業的人工智慧轉型。在此背景下，我關注當今應屆畢業生已受到的影響，以及這對我們國家人才儲備的長期複合影響。
在對250家本地僱主的調查中，80%承認人工智慧已減少了他們的入門級招聘。鑑於本議院兩邊議員均已談及此問題，我不再贅述。
今天，我想提出一項建議，希望政府予以考慮。從企業創新計劃到生產力解決方案補助，作為政府支援的交換，必須建立更強的規則，以防止此類支援加速入門級崗位的流失。總體而言，我建議為所有與人工智慧相關的崗位和補助計劃增加兩個條件。
首先，至少應要求公司提交結構化宣告，詳細說明其人工智慧轉型預計如何影響人力資源決策，特別是入門級崗位。將淘汰或重新設計多少此類崗位，以及將為受影響員工提供何種職業發展支援？該宣告有兩個目的——促使公司考慮調整轉型以保護自身人才儲備，併為政府提供關於入門級崗位在各行業可能受到的定性和定量影響的重要見解。
其次，公司應承諾維持一定數量的入門級崗位，並確保為入門級員工提供結構化發展機會。為便於中小企業合規，第二項條件可僅對超過特定規模的公司強制執行。
為實現此目標，國家人工智慧理事會可協調相關機構並諮詢業界。例如，MDDI可牽頭核實公司是否符合條件。只有獲得此核實的公司，方可提交與人工智慧支出相關的企業創新計劃申報。
先生，我相信我的建議切實可行且必要，以確保公共資金支援的人工智慧轉型不會以犧牲我們國家人才儲備為代價。同樣，部分補助計劃已有相關條件。生產力解決方案補助要求公司在申請前提交擬議方案的整體影響描述及預期生產力提升。
總之，今天的入門級崗位塑造明日的行業領導者。讓我們確保人工智慧轉型放大而非侵蝕年輕畢業生辛勤爭取的職業機會。
降低人工智慧和自動化風險
Mark Lee先生（提名議員）：主席，2026年預算正確地將人工智慧和自動化置於企業轉型的核心。但如果我們希望廣泛採用，明確性和商業現實同資金支援一樣重要。
許多中小企業並不缺乏雄心，而是缺乏確定性。對於什麼算作人工智慧或自動化支出；捆綁的數字成本如何處理；機器人硬體和軟體層如何分類；以及哪些檔案能經得起審計審查，這些都存在不確定性。
當定義模糊時，企業會猶豫。在現金流緊張的環境下，猶豫就變成了不作為。請問數字經濟發展局（MDDI）是否願意與貿易及工業部（MTI）及其他機構合作，確保“人工智慧和自動化支出”在操作層面有明確的定義？
如果不明確，我們面臨兩種風險。第一是“人工智慧洗牌”，即標榜為人工智慧的支出卻沒有可衡量的生產力影響。第二是採用不足，企業因合規風險而推遲真正的轉型。這兩者都會削弱公信力。
然而，僅有明確的定義並不能改變行為。對中小企業來說，問題在於風險不對稱。整合、部署、機器人安裝和工作流程重設計的成本是即時的，而生產力提升則是漸進且不確定的。
如果我們希望轉型超越領先企業，模式必須簡單——早期降低風險，強力獎勵成果。政府是否考慮加強前期支援，實質性降低早期風險暴露，然後引入績效掛鉤激勵，讓那些展示持續生產力提升的企業獲得更高支援，可能高達合格轉型成本的80%至90%？
這並非補貼支出，而是補貼結果——可衡量的每位員工產出、每位員工附加值或成本效率的提升。這樣的模式將公共支出與真實生產力提升掛鉤，給予中小企業信心去承諾轉型。
我們還必須謹慎地塑造國家層面的人工智慧話語。公眾討論往往聚焦於生成式人工智慧和數字工具，但在勞動密集型行業——物流、餐飲、設施管理、製造業——機器人和先進自動化可能帶來更直接的生產力提升。數字經濟發展局在塑造這一敘事中扮演關鍵角色。轉型不僅僅是儀表盤和聊天機器人，而是機器人、流程重設計和崗位重設計。
最後，協調至關重要。人工智慧相關計劃涉及多個機構。從中小企業角度看，現狀可能顯得支離破碎。數字經濟發展局是否考慮加強統一的溝通架構，讓企業看到一個連貫的轉型路徑，而非通過多個機構分散接觸？
在結構性緊張的勞動力市場中，生產力關乎生存。因此，轉型必須：定義清晰；溝通連貫；激勵設計商業合理。如果我們做對了——早期降低風險，果斷獎勵真實成果——我們就能實現全經濟範圍的轉型，而非孤立的試點流程。
人工智慧帶來的增長機遇
朱佩玲博士（蔡厝港選區）：主席先生，在我與中風康復者的工作中，我們利用腦成像和機器學習來理解腦損傷後的重組過程。一次掃描可以產生數千張影像。演算法幫助我們發現否則會錯過的模式。但沒有負責任的科學家會盲目依賴模型。我們會嚴格驗證，測試偏差，檢查模型失效的情況，因為錯誤的結論不會僅停留在期刊上，它會影響到個人。
隨著新加坡加快人工智慧的雄心，我們應將同樣的嚴謹態度應用於國家層面的部署。2026年預算設定了明確方向：由總理擔任主席的國家人工智慧理事會和國家人工智慧任務組，推動先進製造、連線性、金融和醫療保健領域的實際成果。這是正確的姿態：人工智慧——不僅是流行詞，而是經濟戰略。
要讓人工智慧轉化為新加坡人切實感受到的增長，有三項紀律至關重要。
第一，價值捕獲，而非僅僅採用。預算措施，如擴大企業創新計劃以支援合格的人工智慧支出，可以促進採用。但採用不等於影響。從“嘗試工具”到“重設計工作”的躍遷才是生產力的勝利所在。我們應幫助企業，尤其是中小企業，跨越這一鴻溝，提供與任務相關的行業操作手冊、參考工作流程和實用基準。人工智慧必須創造企業價值，而非僅僅是技術活動。
第二，信任架構作為競爭優勢。在一個碎片化的世界中，新加坡的品牌是嚴肅系統可靠執行的地方。隨著人工智慧系統從輔助決策轉向塑造結果，保障不能是非正式的。對於高影響部署，應制度化測試、必要時的可解釋性和適當的獨立審查，以增強信心而不扼殺創新。信任不是創新的副產品，而是我們有意構建的資產。
下午4時
第三，大規模雙語人才。我們需要的不僅是人工智慧工程師，還需要既懂領域又懂資料的專業人士，理解背景、模型侷限和風險。未來的勞動力必須精通程式碼和背景。如果我們構建價值、信任和雙語人才，新加坡不僅會採用人工智慧，還將塑造其部署方式，確保我們的增長具有韌性和包容性。我歡迎部長就數字經濟發展局如何通過國家人工智慧理事會和人工智慧任務組推動這些紀律發表看法。
主席：李嘉珊女士，請將您的兩段發言合併。
為青年專業人士打造人工智慧準備好的中小企業
李嘉珊女士（西海岸-裕廊西選區）：主席先生，這場人工智慧轉型必須謹慎管理，因為它給許多人帶來焦慮。
在我與青年交流中，反覆出現兩個擔憂。第一，被人工智慧取代。第二，人工智慧採用的適度規模。
關於被取代，年輕專業人士和準備進入職場的青年擔心他們的工作會被人工智慧取代。我與青年交流時，他們表示擔憂無法跟上人工智慧發展的速度。隨著人工智慧使某些任務變得多餘，他們的工作也可能被取代。
這適用於準備進入職場的青年和已經在職場的人員。儘管他們是數字原住民，甚至是技術專業人士，但他們仍然緊張，擔心難以領先於人工智慧的發展曲線。
許多在職人員願意提升技能，但時間緊張。他們需要靈活的培訓、僱主支援和認可，以及每門課程的明確成果。僱主則需要信心和保證，培訓能轉化為生產力。
所以，問題不在於培訓什麼，而在於如何讓培訓切實有效。請問部委有哪些計劃，裝備勞動力以獲得利用人工智慧的信心和技能？有哪些計劃確保勞動力培訓與生產力和業務成果緊密掛鉤？有哪些計劃鼓勵僱主更多支援員工培訓？我支援政府探索如何擴大TeSA計劃，幫助所有年輕新加坡工人保持競爭力。
關於適度採用人工智慧，人工智慧的採用不會一刀切。不同企業和行業面臨不同限制，尤其是我們的中小企業。眾所周知，中小企業僱傭了大多數勞動力，近一半在小型和微型企業。我們不能讓他們掉隊。但許多中小企業面臨真實限制：現金流、回報不確定、人力和實施能力。
因此，支援必須適度且實用。不僅是資金，還包括端到端支援，幫助企業採用、整合、擴大人工智慧在核心流程中的應用，重設計遺留系統，並針對不同業務需求定製解決方案。這些人工智慧採用的不均衡加劇了青年對工作安全和職業發展的不確定感。
特別是，我想問：部委將如何減少中小企業採用人工智慧的不確定性？例如，部委是否會促進與行業協會和高等院校聯合開發的共享解決方案或成熟案例的提供？
新宣佈的人工智慧冠軍計劃將在支援人工智慧融入業務流程方面發揮一定作用。請問人工智慧冠軍計劃將如何與企業創新計劃和生產力解決方案補助金等計劃協調，考慮到它們由不同部委下屬的不同法定機構管理？
圖書館的新可能性
我瞭解到數字經濟發展局正在考慮為我們的圖書館帶來新的可能性。我想請求部委在更新圖書館時，將家庭置於首位。先生，我注意到我的發言時間已到。
主席：謝謝。郭振輝先生，您可以將您的兩段發言合併。
推動以人工智慧為中心的資訊科技發展
郭賢川先生（芽籠巴魯）：主席先生，以人工智慧為核心的資訊科技發展已不再是理論。在矽谷，領先的人工智慧公司和超大規模雲服務商已經超越了傳統的軟體開發。現在的框架包括基於意圖的工程、氛圍編碼和代理式開發。越來越多頂尖程式設計師公開表示他們不再採用傳統編碼方式。以人工智慧為核心的開發本質上是不同的，它貫穿於設計、編碼、測試和持續改進的全過程。
新加坡的資訊科技服務公司是我們國家人工智慧戰略與現實成果之間的交付層。瓶頸不在於人才，我們的技術人員已經準備就緒。問題可能是資訊科技服務公司的結構慣性，如果他們不能迅速採用這些新範式，我們的雄心將停留在紙面上。
多媒體發展、設計與創新局（MDDI）能否與已經在本地設立的頂尖人工智慧公司和超大規模雲服務商合作，將這些技術訣竅轉移給本地企業？我們是否應利用這些合作關係，不僅推動企業發展，還要轉變我們資訊科技公司的軟體構建方式？
新加坡政府科技局（GovTech）是否也能迅速採取行動，擁抱這些方法，同時遵守網路安全和監管要求，並逐步要求參與政府工作的IT服務公司也這樣做？這並非沒有先例。我們曾在建築採購中強制採用建築資訊模型（BIM），這徹底改變了該行業。
最後，我們如何確保我們的技術勞動力和學生跟上步伐？在技術行業之外，我們如何鼓勵跨國公司和中小企業在自身運營中採用人工智慧？
支援我們的國家媒體
主席先生，我們的公共服務媒體公司——新傳媒、聯合早報、CNA、商業時報——不僅是新加坡的真相基礎設施，也是我們社會的信任基礎設施。在人工智慧生成的虛假資訊時代，正如一些議員早先提到的，它們是我們人民與被操縱的資訊環境之間的屏障。
然而，我們的公共服務媒體面臨重大挑戰：在碎片化的媒體空間中發行量下降，廣告模式快速演變，以及來自海外的虛假資訊日益增多。與商業媒體不同，我們的公共服務媒體還承擔著國家建設的責任，公平服務所有社群，促進社會凝聚力，維護國家利益。即使是像《華盛頓郵報》這樣有聲望的國際媒體也不得不採取大幅裁員。
多媒體發展、設計與創新局能否闡述其保持國家媒體吸引力、相關性和繁榮的願景？它如何幫助媒體保持財務可持續性，以避免類似的痛苦重組？
我們不應低估我們已有的資源。聯合早報已是全球最受尊敬的中文媒體之一。CNA的公信力遠超本地。通過戰略投資，商業時報有望成為東南亞的《金融時報》。我們的公共服務媒體是我們軟實力的重要來源。
我們的媒體還必須對所有新加坡人保持相關性，尤其是學生。澳大利亞和英國等國家確保公共服務內容在聯網電視平臺上保持顯著且易於發現。我們能否效仿，使本地優質內容不被演算法偏向海外節目所掩蓋？
我們的公共服務媒體公司是國家資產。我希望多媒體發展、設計與創新局能分享其保障未來的計劃。我注意到我還有18秒，所以想補充一點。我注意到我們要求多媒體發展、設計與創新局在網路安全、國家公共服務媒體、IT服務和人工智慧開發方面承擔很多責任。我知道預算有限，任務不易完成。提前感謝你們。
主席：陳佩玲女士，請將您的兩段發言合併。
數字世界中的信任
陳佩玲女士（海濱組屋-布萊德爾高地）：主席先生，我們是一個開放的社會，無論是物理上還是虛擬上。資訊從各個方向湧入，辨別真相從未如此困難。人工智慧使這一問題更加嚴重。
最近，許多人可能讀到過網上的假新聞，聲稱資深部長李顯龍公開反對總理黃循財。我一位居民在一月份的區塊訪問中如此堅信該報道，以至於我很難說服他。此類事件不僅誤導資訊，還腐蝕相互信任，削弱社會凝聚力，併為詐騙提供溫床。人工智慧加劇了威脅，因為它可以大規模生成令人信服的內容，快速迭代，並被用來探測和破壞我們的關鍵資訊基礎設施。
我們的公共服務媒體在維護事實公共話語中發揮核心作用，是公民獲取重要問題真相的首選來源。因此，我有幾個問題。
首先，政府將如何支援和加強我們的公共服務媒體，使其能更有效地應對日益嘈雜的資訊環境中的假新聞和錯誤資訊？這包括資金、人才培養、編輯獨立性以及快速大規模驗證的技術能力。
其次，將採取哪些具體措施確保公共服務媒體內容保持高質量和高度可訪問性，涵蓋語言、平臺和人口統計，以便在謠言傳播之前，可信資訊能傳達至每個社群？
同樣，我們如何確保真實且經過驗證的新加坡敘事傳達到國際受眾，既保護我們的聲譽免受虛假資訊侵害，也在全球重大事務中發出我們的聲音？
第三，政府是否會為公共服務媒體和公共機構配備先進工具，包括負責任治理的人工智慧，用於檢測、歸因和反制虛假資訊？簡言之，我們能否用人工智慧對抗人工智慧，同時設立保障措施避免過度干預、偏見或隱私侵蝕？
最後，除了公共服務媒體，政府將在哪些更廣泛的領域投資公共數字素養、快速響應驗證實驗室以及與平臺和民間社會的合作，以增強社會對人工智慧驅動的錯誤資訊的韌性？
在技術既帶來益處又帶來風險的時代，我們必須確保公共資訊架構穩健、可信且具適應性。
人工智慧治理與主體性
隨著新加坡將人工智慧視為發展戰略必需，我們必須在利用其力量的同時保護人民的長期利益。當前公眾討論多偏向於人工智慧“接管”工作和社會的末日論調。這種敘事忽視了一個根本點：我們可以且必須保有人類主體性。我們可以選擇人工智慧的設計、治理和部署方式。
這一選擇需要強有力的國家領導，制定切實可行的治理路徑，並持續開展國際合作，明確哪些事項不應委託機器處理。新加坡於2019年1月率先推出了《人工智慧治理模型框架》，隨後開展了生成式和代理式人工智慧的相關工作。這些都是重要基礎。
但領導力必須轉化為具體行動。包括互操作標準和認證、嚴格的採購和審計要求、獨立監督，以及公眾素養和勞動力再培訓的投資，使公民能夠行使有意義的主體性。在國際上，我們可以推動規範，防止監管套利，確保跨境問責。
因此，在現有框架基礎上，政府將採取哪些措施加強新加坡在全球人工智慧治理、標準、認證、國際協調和能力建設中的作用，以維護人類主體性，同時負責任地約束人工智慧主體性？
主席：陳潔儀女士，請將您的三段發言合併。
數字安全與社會韌性
陳潔儀女士（東海岸）：主席先生，2026年預算強調了一個重要優先事項，即保護新加坡人免受詐騙和網路危害。如今的數字安全不僅僅是避免可疑連結。人工智慧改變了詐騙和網路威脅的運作方式。用於欺騙的工具更復雜、更個性化，且更難被發現，即使是那些通常在網路上自信的人也難以識別。
我們現在看到人工智慧生成的深度偽造影片，聲音可以極其逼真地模仿家人或朋友。高度個性化的詐騙根據個人習慣、脆弱點和網路行為定製資訊。錯誤資訊傳播速度更快，規模超過事實核查能力。這些風險對老年人、青少年、低收入家庭以及缺乏數字自信辨別真假資訊的人群影響尤甚。
為了保障新加坡人的安全，我們必須從“數字安全”轉向人工智慧風險韌性，賦予人們實用技能、可信工具和強大的社群支援。
我們可以從四個方面加強這方面的工作。我想提出以下建議。
第一，在針對不同年齡組和人生階段的數字素養專案中，推出國家級的人工智慧安全課程。
第二，網路安全委員會（OSC）可以將人工智慧特有的風險納入其線上危害類別，承認由人工智慧生成的冒充行為，如深度偽造和大量生產非真實材料，以便受害者能夠及時尋求補救。
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第三，成立一個公私合營的人工智慧反詐騙工作組，以領先應對不斷演變的威脅並協調響應。
第四，利用數字大使的基礎，發展一個社群基礎的數字安全大使網路，重點關注老年活動中心、學校和社會服務環境中的人工智慧風險。
主席先生，數字安全工具旨在保護信任，保護家庭，並確保每位新加坡人，無論年齡或背景如何，都能在人工智慧驅動的世界中感到自信和安全。
負責任的人工智慧
主席先生，今年的預算正確強調了負責任人工智慧的重要性。新加坡已經建立了堅實的基礎——從《人工智慧治理模型框架》到AI Verify，以及金融和醫療保健領域的行業特定指南。這些是真實的優勢，顯示了我們對安全和可信創新的承諾。
但隨著人工智慧成為影響人們生活的日常決策的一部分，新加坡人現在需要更多的清晰度、一致性和問責制。
如今，人工智慧已經被用於招聘、信用評估、保險承保甚至公共部門流程。但透明度水平差異很大。許多新加坡人甚至可能不知道何時涉及人工智慧。沒有定期檢查，這些系統可能無意中強化或放大偏見。信任不會自動產生，我們必須有意識地建立它。
同時，我們知道現代人工智慧，尤其是前沿模型，複雜且通常是專有的。雖然透明度和獨立評估聽起來簡單，但現實更具挑戰性。新加坡現有框架認識到這一點，但部署速度意味著我們需要以實用且適度的方式加強方法。
並非所有人工智慧系統都能承擔相同的風險水平。一個回答常見問題的聊天機器人與篩選求職者、評估信用或支援醫療決策的演算法不同。前沿人工智慧模型，最強大且不可預測，完全屬於另一類風險。
這就是為什麼我認為新加坡應朝著針對高風險或高影響人工智慧系統的有針對性要求發展，而非一刀切。透明度並不意味著公開原始碼，而是解釋系統的功能、風險及所採取的保障措施。只有在潛在危害顯著時，才應要求獨立審計。
這些並非激進的想法，它們正成為全球規範。歐盟已強制對高風險系統進行審計。加拿大也在朝同一方向發展。美國監管機構要求在金融和醫療領域進行審計。英國正在加強對前沿模型的評估要求。新加坡應保持領先，但方式應符合我們的實際情況並支援創新。
基於風險的方法使我們能夠保護新加坡人，同時保持合規的實用性。這確保我們不會給中小企業帶來過重負擔或減緩創新，同時仍讓新加坡人有信心人工智慧被負責任地使用。
我的建議是政府與業界共同制定實用指導、沙盒和行業特定標準，建立在我們已有的堅實基礎上。這將負責任的人工智慧轉變為一種共享的國家能力，而不僅僅是監管義務。
企業採用人工智慧的準備情況
主席先生，2026年預算為新加坡的人工智慧推動注入了真正的動力。但對許多中小企業來說，關鍵問題仍然存在。人工智慧是否能讓日常工作更輕鬆、更高效、更有意義？
中小企業仍面臨實際障礙。計算資源成本高昂，資料分散，治理複雜，員工擔心工作影響。如果我們不解決這些現實問題，人工智慧只會讓少數人受益。
更新後的國家人工智慧戰略為可信人工智慧指明瞭方向，但中小企業需要明天就能使用的實用工具——行業特定的人工智慧信任路線圖，明確常見風險和良好實踐，預先批准的資料處理、模型測試和人工介入檢查的治理模板，簡單的“綠色通道”指導，使低風險用例能快速推進，而高風險用例獲得所需保障。這就是讓可信人工智慧成為催化劑，而非合規負擔的方式。
人工智慧冠軍計劃很有前景，但人工智慧採用不僅僅是工具問題，還涉及準備資料、重新設計工作流程和幫助員工建立信心。許多中小企業缺乏這方面的專業知識。
MDDI能否分享中小企業如何利用這些冠軍獲得治理支援、工作流程重設計，並充分利用國家計算和企業計劃？
我們的員工是核心。勞動力轉型路線圖必須超越廣泛技能。員工需要角色特定的技能地圖，展示人工智慧如何改變任務，明確從當前角色向未來人工智慧支援角色轉變的路徑，以及與中小企業實際採用工具相關的實操培訓。當員工看到人工智慧如何簡化工作並提高生產力時，採用就會變得自然而然。
我歡迎預算對本地人工智慧開發者和測試平臺的投資，以及政府採購在幫助他們規模化中的作用。隨著人工智慧越來越多地嵌入運營，新成立的網路韌性中心和加強的中小企業支援將賦予企業安全採用人工智慧的信心。
主席先生，當我們結合實用支援、明確的人工智慧信任指導、賦能員工、強大的網路安全和充滿活力的本地生態系統時，人工智慧將成為真正的生產力工具和企業的助推器——也是新加坡的真正競爭優勢。
主席：張玉娟部長。
數字發展與信息部長（張玉娟女士）：主席先生，感謝各位議員的發言。請允許我用中文開始回應。
（中文）：[請參閱方言發言。] 主席先生，轉眼間，明天就是元宵節了。春節前，我問母親是否需要我陪她去買新衣服，但83歲的她說：“不用了！我已經在網上找到了喜歡的衣服並下單了。”
我擔心她可能會被騙，就問她怎麼知道賣家可靠。她自信地回答：“我只有在收到貨並滿意後才付款。”
在團圓飯那天，她興奮地給我看她的新衣服，那時我才放心。
主席先生，數字技術給我們的生活帶來了許多便利，也為我們的企業創造了新機遇。但它也讓我們面臨前所未有的風險和危險。同樣，人工智慧既有利也有弊。幾位議員也提到了這一點。
一些新加坡人擔心自己跟不上人工智慧時代的步伐。我以前也有同感。但正如總理所說，我們不能因為害怕人工智慧而停滯不前。
俗話說，“逆水行舟，不進則退。”
其他國家已經發展了他們的人工智慧計劃。如果我們行動不夠快，規劃不夠廣泛，基礎不夠紮實，我們必然會落後。關鍵是我們的目標必須明確，措施必須有效。
在這個人工智慧時代，我們如何確保新加坡人不被落下，幫助中小企業保持競爭優勢？這是我們密切關注的核心問題。
就像我的母親——她不是數字專家，但在適當幫助下，她也能安全地進行網上購物。
我們不需要強迫自己成為人工智慧大師，因為不是每個人都能掌握同樣程度的人工智慧；他們從中受益的方式也會不同。更重要的是，新加坡必須保持自信，才能在人工智慧時代穩步前進。
在今年的COS辯論中，MDDI將提出各種相關舉措，確保新加坡人不僅能跟上步伐，還能從中受益。
（英文）：主席先生，人工智慧已成為今年預算和COS辯論的焦點。議員們分享了對機遇的樂觀和對就業、創造力及自主權影響的擔憂。
沙拉爾·塔哈議員提出了一個關於新加坡在人工智慧領域獨特定位的戰略性問題。我們很幸運，國際同行認可我們通過一系列推動因素——從研發和基礎設施到安全和治理——在各行業、企業和勞動力中進行整體響應的能力。
在全球舞臺上，新加坡經常參與重要討論。我們對人工智慧採取的進步且深思熟慮的態度，使我們成為可信賴的合作伙伴和有價值的參考點。這使得我們能夠設定更高的目標。
總理黃循財、副總理顏金勇以及貿易與工業部的同事們闡述了培養人工智慧冠軍和推進國家人工智慧任務的計劃。隨後，人力部和教育部的同事們將討論如何賦能當前及未來的勞動力，充分利用人工智慧。我將重點談談這對我們更廣泛的企業基礎意味著什麼。
簡而言之，我們希望充分利用人工智慧的普及能力，或者更簡單地說，讓其利益廣泛傳播，因為曾經過於昂貴或複雜的解決方案現在變得更易獲得。
但如果人工智慧沿襲以往技術浪潮的路徑，只有少數處於前沿的公司會領先並拉開與其他企業的差距。規模較小且資源較少的企業則需要更長時間才能趕上。然而，它們合計僱傭了我們大多數的勞動力。當它們落後時，風險不僅僅是國內生產總值。風險還包括創業者的希望與夢想、工人的生計以及社群的發展。
這就是為什麼數字經濟發展局（MDDI）正在建立國家人工智慧影響計劃——將人工智慧的可能性變為多數人的現實，而非少數人的特權。
目前，約有15%的中小企業和大約七成的工人在某種程度上使用人工智慧。我們希望鼓勵尚未起步的企業邁出第一步，並幫助已經使用人工智慧的企業超越基礎應用。
在未來三年內，國家人工智慧影響計劃旨在支援1萬家本地企業將人工智慧整合到其業務流程中。這將創造一個龐大的早期採用者群體。他們可以成為社群中的倍增者，通過戴妮絲·傅女士向總理提及的中介機構分享經驗和知識。
小企業將受益最大。以宏茂橋的一家單店銷售商榴蓮記憶為例。他們沒有條件專門安排團隊成員處理客戶諮詢。結果，飢餓的榴蓮愛好者未能得到及時回應，導致銷售流失。
但榴蓮記憶通過實施一套具備人工智慧功能的客戶關係管理系統，配備自動回答客戶查詢的聊天機器人，成功應對了這一挑戰。結果，銷售高峰期增長了30%。
現在有許多人工智慧工具以簡單有效的方式改善業務運營。它們佔信息通信媒體發展局（IMDA）“中小企業數字化”平臺上數字解決方案的30%。我們將通過補助支援擴大人工智慧解決方案的範圍，以滿足不同的業務需求。更多中小企業將能夠訪問這些預先批准、成本效益高且市場驗證的工具，輕鬆且經濟地整合人工智慧。
正如普里塔姆·辛格先生和穆海敏先生所期望的，我們希望這些解決方案既具有變革性，又以人為本。同時，李顯龍先生擔憂人工智慧漂綠問題。我們將在補助和激勵措施中設定保障措施，同時努力避免規則過於繁重。
一些企業已準備好利用人工智慧做更多事情。以Mocha Chai實驗室為例。他們是一支才華橫溢的多媒體創作團隊，提升電影視覺和音效。大多數人不知道，電影中的音效仍然是手工新增的，通常需要四到八週時間。加入IMDA的數字領袖計劃並提升技術能力後，Mocha Chai開發了一款新的生成式人工智慧工具，能夠分析影片素材並自動生成匹配的音效，將數週的工作縮短到僅一天。
這一創新不僅幫助公司節省了成本，還創造了潛在的新收入來源。它為企業及其員工開闢了新的機會。
我們希望有更多像Mocha Chai這樣的成功故事。但正如陳潔儀女士、李顯龍先生和莎拉爾·塔哈先生指出，更復雜的人工智慧應用需要多種因素共同成功。技術往往已準備好，但人們尚未準備好。這就是為什麼我們正在加強數字領袖計劃，並推出新的數字領袖加速訓練營，培養變革管理的技能和信心，而不僅僅是技術能力。
我們也感謝安德烈·羅先生、陳德成先生、法茲利·法茲維先生以及莎拉爾·塔哈先生認可政府已提前規劃，管理人工智慧廣泛使用帶來的能源影響。
我們通過多種方式做到這一點。我們在擴充套件數字基礎設施時保持審慎。分配新的資料中心時，我們評估其使用低碳能源的效率。我們正在引入新的可持續性要求，以提升舊資料中心的能源效率。通過國家人工智慧研發計劃，我們將支援公共研究，推動資源高效的人工智慧，深入瞭解我們的選擇。
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隨著更多企業採用人工智慧，也有機會提升勞動力技能，幫助他們保持競爭力，無論是在入門階段還是職業後期。除了總理的承諾和人力部的計劃外，我想向阿卜杜勒·穆海敏先生、李嘉珊女士和朱佩玲博士等議員保證，數字經濟發展局正專注於此。
我們知道專業人士和知識工作者感受到的壓力更為明顯。但許多人已經找到藉助人工智慧提高效率的方法。以審計專業人士勞潔琳為例，她在畢馬威工作了27年。每次審計，她都要仔細審閱大量檔案以評估風險。通過僱主提供的培訓，她建立了一個人工智慧代理，自動整合公司公告中的關鍵資訊，用於審計審查。
人工智慧代理比勞潔琳更快地組織資訊，但她的領域知識是確保其查詢正確內容的關鍵。節省了數小時的手工工作後，她現在可以專注於更深入的風險評估，並運用她的人類能力——智慧、校準和專業判斷——處理更復雜的工作。
勞潔琳和許多專業人士展示了人工智慧技能、領域專長和人類觸感的強大組合。我們不可能人人成為人工智慧工程師，但我們可以在各自專業領域成為“人工智慧雙語者”，用人工智慧解決領域內的問題。
政府將支援10萬名工人成為人工智慧雙語者。他們將成為有意義的人工智慧技能提升的先行者，供他人效仿。我們最初將重點關注高度暴露於人工智慧且服務多個行業的職業。信息通信媒體發展局將與相關機構和專業團體合作，擴大其TeSA計劃，培養關鍵領域的人工智慧雙語工人。我們將從會計和法律職業開始，逐步擴充套件到人力資源等其他領域。
正如郭振輝先生指出，人工智慧也在改變科技行業——許多人現在可以藉助人工智慧編寫程式碼和構建原型。因此，我們將加強TeSA專案，幫助科技工作者提升價值鏈，從編寫程式碼到協調由人工智慧代理驅動的端到端系統。
隨著人工智慧快速發展，我們的治理也必須跟上步伐。我們贊同陳潔儀女士和朱佩玲博士關於基於風險、務實的人工智慧治理觀點。正如蘇紹輝先生所言，我們認為人工智慧不應取代有洞察力的人類思維。
我們新的代理型人工智慧模型治理框架將幫助組織管理能夠更獨立行動的系統，同時確保有人類監督。我們是全球首個推出此類指導方針的政府。對於高風險、高影響的系統，如前沿模型，我們將逐步加強保障措施。
然而，正如陳佩玲女士指出，本地所做的還不夠。最先進的人工智慧模型僅在少數幾個國家開發，但它們在人工智慧安全方面的合作並不深入。
近年來，新加坡舉辦了多場重要的人工智慧會議，促進國際合作。去年，我們組織了新加坡人工智慧會議：國際科學交流人工智慧安全。此次交流匯聚了來自研究、政府和民間社會的世界級思想家，促成了關於全球人工智慧安全研究優先事項的新加坡共識。
最近，在印度人工智慧影響峰會上，我分享了新加坡將主辦第二屆國際科學交流會議，以更新新加坡共識。儘管面臨挑戰，我們將繼續為國際人工智慧安全話語做出有意義貢獻。
接下來談談網路安全。議員們理所當然地關心我們的關鍵基礎設施是否足夠防範惡意威脅行為者，尤其是國家支援的攻擊者。我想向莎拉爾·塔哈先生和嚴建業先生保證，網路安全域性（CSA）與國內外合作伙伴緊密協作，檢測並遏制網路威脅。
在外交方面，新加坡最近圓滿完成了第二屆聯合國資訊通訊技術安全開放式工作組的主席國職責。
現實情況是，國家支援的威脅行為者司空見慣。然而，達成國際共識，明確什麼構成負責任的國家網路行為，仍然非常重要。我們不能指望這些努力能夠替代更強大的網路防禦能力。在這方面，網路安全域性將重點關注三個關鍵領域。
首先，我們將審查關鍵基礎設施（CII）所有者的網路安全標準和要求。其次，我們將為關鍵基礎設施所有者提供先進的工具，使他們能夠應對高階威脅。第三，我們將與合作伙伴共同提升我們網路安全人才的能力。高階國務部長陳杰厚將進一步介紹這些工作。
我們面臨的另一個風險是由人工智慧等技術助長的虛假資訊和錯誤資訊的傳播。作為一個多元化社會，我們特別容易受到網路謠言的影響，這些謠言侵蝕了社會和機構的信任。幸運的是，我們一直在加強圖書館和檔案館的建設。它們通過培養閱讀習慣和資訊素養，幫助培育有辨別力的民眾。國務部長拉哈尤稍後將分享更多內容。
我們的公共服務媒體機構在維護我們資訊空間的信任方面也非常重要。感謝郭振輝先生和陳佩玲女士對此的認可。我們的公共服務媒體機構覆蓋了超過90%的新加坡人。它們仍然受到公眾的高度信任，甚至超過了知名的國際和線上媒體。
因此，我們的公共服務媒體機構在對抗虛假資訊方面變得不可或缺。MDDI 將繼續與我們的公共服務媒體機構緊密合作，以保持其影響力並加強其事實核查能力。例如，CNA 將成立一個數字驗證團隊。政府機構也與《海峽時報》合作開展了 AskST 系列，以應對虛假資訊。
郭振輝先生詢問了有關幫助公共服務媒體保持相關性、易於發現以及財務可持續性的努力，因為觀眾注意力和廣告收入正向數字平臺轉移。
除了提供及時且可信的新聞外，我們的公共服務媒體機構還製作增強我們作為一個民族認同感的內容。它們還通過定期的學生刊物和學校競賽，在培養青少年的新聞素養方面發揮作用。
鑑於公共服務媒體的重要作用，MDDI 將支援保持公共服務媒體內容可見且易於發現的努力。我們正在研究其他國家的做法，並將與業界協商，確保各項舉措合理有效地實施。政府將繼續投資我們的公共服務媒體實體，幫助它們在媒體環境演變中發展新能力。
先生，最後總結一下，我們今天所做的投資將決定我們明天是領先還是落後。通過加快人工智慧的應用，加強技術治理，並提升人民的辨識能力，我們正使新加坡人能夠抓住機遇，共同進步。
主席：高階國務部長陳杰豪。
數字發展與資訊高階國務部長（陳杰豪先生）：先生，過去十年裡，我們採取了重大舉措加強網路安全，例如成立網路安全域性（CSA）並引入《網路安全法》以保護我們的關鍵基礎資訊設施。
但絕不能自滿。我同意維克拉姆·奈爾先生對內政部的看法，即威脅行為者，尤其是高階持續性威脅（APT），只會變得更加複雜。沙拉爾·塔哈先生詢問了政府保護我們關鍵基礎設施（CII）的計劃。
網路安全是集體的努力。關鍵基礎設施（CII）所有者必須對他們擁有和運營的系統負責。政府也將盡我們的責任。
在本次COS上，我將談論MDDI的計劃，首先，更新網路安全標準和義務；其次，提高關鍵基礎設施（CII）所有者的水平；第三，加強我們網路安全勞動力的能力。
今天，我們對關鍵基礎設施（CII）所有者提出了更高的標準，並對其關鍵系統或CII系統施加了嚴格的義務。這是一種經過權衡的做法，旨在平衡國家安全需求與企業成本。我們觀察到，威脅行為者也在針對非CII系統，因為這些系統可能安全性較低，且可能成為進入CII系統的入口點。
因此，CSA正在審查當前網路安全標準和義務的範圍，可能會包括非關鍵基礎設施（非CII）系統，例如與關鍵基礎設施系統互聯的網路。我們注意避免給關鍵基礎設施所有者施加不必要的成本，並將繼續採取基於風險、經過校準且務實的方法。
各行業負責人可根據其行業特點引入額外的行業特定義務。例如，鑑於近期頻繁發生的攻擊事件，信息通信媒體發展局（IMDA）將加強對電信運營商的網路安全監管。IMDA計劃就基礎設施虛擬化管理和憑證管理等領域提供指導。
我們期望關鍵基礎設施（CII）所有者遵守這些要求。關鍵基礎設施所有者目前會聘請第三方進行審計和定期滲透測試，以驗證其防禦的穩健性。這些報告隨後提交給網路安全域性（CSA）進行審查。
除了依賴此類第三方報告外，CSA還希望確保關鍵基礎設施（CII）所有者實施的安全控制不僅在審計期間得到測試和驗證，而且能夠持續加強。實現這一目標的一種方式是與CII所有者合作進行現場審查。CSA目前正在與各行業負責人討論實施計劃。準備就緒後，我們將聯絡已確定的CII所有者。
先生，法規和合規只能起到有限的作用。我們需要我們的行業和關鍵基礎設施業主每天持續地盡其所能，保護他們的系統。
在過去的一年裡，我走訪了關鍵基礎設施（CII）各個行業，花時間與行業負責人和關鍵基礎設施所有者進行了交談。我們進行了閉門、坦誠的討論。我們的行業負責人和關鍵基礎設施所有者都明白威脅環境已經演變，並且認識到所面臨的風險。然而，他們告訴我，大多數關鍵基礎設施所有者是私營公司，其業務是提供基本服務。他們並非網路安全專家。然而，他們面對的是最頂尖的、由國家支援的網路威脅行為者。一位首席資訊安全官告訴我，這就像他帶著刀去打槍戰。我理解他的觀點。
正如我所說，網路安全是集體的努力。我們是一支隊伍。因此，政府將積極協助關鍵基礎設施（CII）所有者加強防禦能力，更好地應對事件。
通常，國家安全是政府的專屬領域，例如開發尖端技術系統和培訓熟練操作員以應對各種威脅情景。我們決定將政府的一些專業知識提供給私營部門，以平衡防禦者和攻擊者之間的競爭環境。我們將幫助我們的關鍵基礎設施（CII）所有者“提升水平”，在與高階持續性威脅（APT）的鬥爭中自保。
首先是情報。我們將有選擇地與我們的關鍵基礎設施業主共享機密威脅情報，以便他們能夠更好地發現並迅速應對攻擊其系統的威脅。
第二是工具。我們將為關鍵基礎設施（CII）所有者配備專有的威脅檢測系統，以增強他們檢測網路中惡意活動的能力，特別是針對國家支援的高階持續性威脅（APT）。這些專有工具是對我們關鍵基礎設施所有者目前使用的商業威脅檢測系統的補充。我們已經開始在部分關鍵基礎設施所有者中部署這些工具，並將逐步推廣到其他所有者。關鍵基礎設施所有者可能需要承擔將這些工具整合到其系統中的費用。如有需要，我們將考慮提供資金支援。
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即使採取了這些措施，我們也必須做好準備，某些威脅仍可能未被發現。這就是為什麼防禦者必須保持警惕，並不斷提升他們的能力。
這讓我談到下一個關於創新的觀點。威脅行為者也在不斷進步。正如沙拉爾·塔哈先生指出的，自治人工智慧代理正成為新興威脅。我們必須同樣利用技術來保護我們的關鍵系統。網路安全域性將與關鍵基礎設施業主合作，測試使用人工智慧等技術，以幫助提升其網路安全運營的效率和效果。我們將在適當時候分享更多細節。
防禦者還需要能夠有效地使用這些工具。因此，CSA將與培訓機構合作，設計和策劃課程，裝備網路安全專業人員具備應對APT威脅的專業知識和技能。
保障我們關鍵基礎設施（CII）系統安全的責任不能僅僅落在我們的前線網路安全防禦者肩上。這不僅僅是一個技術問題。關鍵基礎設施所有者的董事會和管理層也必須盡其職責。這是一項領導責任。我們將為他們提供相關知識。
自2021年以來，網路安全域性（CSA）與新加坡管理大學合作，為高管領導人舉辦網路安全戰略領導力課程。迄今為止，該課程已培訓了74名高階領導人，如SMRT的Dewi Anggraini女士、施耐德電氣的Andre Shori先生和星展銀行的Kang Seng Wei先生。鑑於參與者的積極反饋，CSA將在未來幾年內舉辦更多期領導力課程。我們計劃在今年下半年迎來下一批網路安全領導者。
現在讓我談談我們如何保護公民。就在去年，議員們可能看到過報道，稱攻擊者未經授權訪問了全球數千臺物聯網（IoT）裝置，包括路由器。新加坡也未能倖免。去年，攻擊者感染了2700多臺裝置，如嬰兒監視器和路由器。當這些個人裝置被駭客入侵時，公民的隱私可能受到侵犯，日常活動也會被幹擾。這些裝置還可能被不知情地用來發動針對他人的攻擊。
政府將採取更多措施保護公民免受這些惡意行為者的侵害。首先，我們將更加確保在新加坡銷售的數字產品具備基本的安全保障措施。這將使這些產品更難被攻破。
目前，我們要求家庭路由器必須符合最低網路安全要求。這是因為它們是網路的入口，傳輸敏感資訊。目前要求其符合網路安全標籤計劃（Cyber Labelling Scheme，CLS）一級標準。CLS類似於家用電器上的能效標籤，但它顯示的不是能耗，而是裝置的網路安全等級。
CLS分為一級到四級，一級為最基本標準。我們已見到威脅行為者使用更先進的技術來利用家庭路由器。因此，CSA和信息通信媒體發展局（IMDA）計劃將新加坡銷售的所有路由器的最低網路安全要求提升至相當於CLS二級。
除了路由器，網路攝像頭也是網路威脅行為者的常見目標。威脅行為者利用這些攝像頭監視個人。被利用的影像甚至被上傳至色情網站或用於勒索個人。為了更好地保護公民，CSA將探討要求網路攝像頭達到CLS二級標準，類似於家庭路由器。
CSA將繼續監測並審查是否應要求更多數字裝置達到最低網路安全標準。
其次，對於處理敏感資料（包括個人身份資訊）的組織，我們正在考慮引入更嚴格的網路安全和資料保護義務。政府將帶頭實施。GovTech將要求管理關鍵系統和敏感政府資料的政府供應商符合網路信任標誌（Cyber Trust Mark）要求。
CSA還將要求以下三類實體符合網路信任標誌要求：關鍵基礎設施所有者、對關鍵基礎設施系統進行網路安全審計的審計員，以及CSA許可的提供滲透測試和託管安全運營中心服務的網路安全服務提供商。
相關利益相關者的諮詢工作正在進行中，這些措施將在未來兩年內逐步實施。
我們也在著眼未來，準備應對明天的威脅。議員Kenneth Tiong希望澄清新加坡對量子安全遷移的態度。我們一直密切關注這一技術趨勢。我們也認為後量子密碼學（PQC）將成為量子安全遷移的主流解決方案。它經過廣泛測試並被國際認可。新加坡將以美國國家標準與技術研究院（NIST）標準為基線。正如Tiong議員指出的，這也是許多其他國家採取的立場。
量子金鑰分發（QKD）是一種補充技術，更適合於高保障通訊等特定應用。新加坡在量子安全遷移方面採取風險導向的方法。政府正在審查可採取的實際步驟，包括採用PQC及在必要時QKD的適當角色。
我們已開始投資能力建設，以支援企業進行量子安全遷移。2025年10月，CSA釋出了《量子安全手冊》和《量子準備指數》，以提高對相關風險的認識。我們正與行業專家合作，更好地支援組織的努力，包括通過培訓。我們還通過國家量子安全網路加（NQSN+）計劃，在全國部署兩條量子安全網路。這為企業將量子安全解決方案（如PQC和QKD）整合到其網路和系統中提供了更多選擇。
通過支援NQSN+基礎設施和服務的提供，我們旨在降低組織實施量子安全解決方案的技術和財務門檻。量子相關技術是一個不斷發展的領域。我們將密切關注發展動態，並適時釋出相關指導。
如果不同的技術解決方案被證明有效且能滿足我們的需求，我們準備予以採用。
先生，我們的數字基礎設施支撐著我們的經濟和公民的日常生活。數字發展與信息部（MDDI）致力於提升我們數字基礎設施的韌性和安全性。
主席：數字發展與信息部國務部長劉潔茵女士。
數字發展與信息部國務部長（劉潔茵女士）：主席先生，在當今世界，許多企業提供無縫、高效且可靠的數字服務。新加坡人也期望政府能做到同樣。
雖然我們已取得良好進展，但我們可以做得更好。我們必須承認，公民仍然遇到服務速度不夠快、表格要求提供我們已掌握的資訊，或系統之間難以互通的情況。我的發言是關於必須改變的內容。
讓我借用一個熟悉的童年玩具——樂高積木（LEGO）套裝的比喻。我們可以從樂高積木中學到幾點。
首先，它們基於對客戶及其偏好隨時間變化的深刻理解。孩子們成長，注意力持續時間變化，樂高設計也相應調整。
其次，模組化。每塊積木設計成能無縫連線。搭建者無需每次都重新發明基本結構。他們可以重複使用、重新組合並向上構建。
第三，客戶可以選擇構建模型的簡單或複雜程度。對一些人來說，簡單的樂高DUPLO或樂高城市套裝就足夠了；而對想要複雜性的使用者，樂高Technic或樂高教育SPIKE套裝提供了高階機械元件。這些是可選的，但易於新增。
這個比喻聽起來簡單，但背後的工程學並不簡單。對我們公共服務來說，這些教訓意味著什麼？
我們必須持續不斷地瞭解公民，而非偶爾為之。新加坡人的期望在演變，他們的人生旅程也在變化。十年前感覺直觀的服務，今天可能顯得緩慢或碎片化。我們必須設計模組化系統和數字元件，使其跨部門協作。當系統無縫連線時，公民感受到的是整體政府。我們還必須能夠提供滿足複雜需求的服務。我們的先進共享工具，如人工智慧平臺和編碼助手，支援我們大規模構建專業元件。並非所有問題都需要複雜解決方案，但當需要複雜性時，能力必須已具備。安全、整合且準備就緒。
要做好這一切，我們的一些習慣必須改變。有時，數字轉型變成了一系列專案。新應用和新試點。轉型不在於啟動了多少數字專案，而在於公民是否覺得與政府打交道更簡單、更快、更清晰。
這需要在問題定義上保持紀律，也需要在試驗上保持紀律。在公共服務中，謹慎是自然的。但當期望超前於我們時，什麼都不做是有風險的。我們必須學會管理這種風險，而不是消除試驗。
通過開放政府產品（OGP）的“為公益而駭客”活動等舉措，我們的官員與使用者緊密合作，瞭解並解決實際痛點。一個團隊觀察到，醫務社會工作者在經歷情感上困難的談話後，需要花費大量時間撰寫個案記錄。他們的第一反應是開發一個自動轉錄和摘要工具。但該工具並未完全滿足使用者需求。我們的社會工作者希望能更好地控制個案記錄的結構，以便重要資訊能夠被輕鬆檢索。當生成的記錄組織不清晰時，他們會重新編寫。
團隊將該工具改進為Scribe，一款由人工智慧驅動的工具，能夠根據使用者選擇的主題和寫作風格轉錄對話並生成摘要。Scribe現已在100多個社會服務機構和所有公共醫療機構中使用。平均每次對話節省36分鐘的文件記錄時間。這不僅僅是一個數據點，而是將時間還給了關懷。
如果樂高連線件每年都重新設計，沒有人能搭建出連貫的作品。在政府中，不相容的系統也會產生同樣的效果。過去，各機構常為不同需求構建獨立系統，認為每個需求都是獨特的。雖然出於良好意圖，但這導致了重複建設和整合難題。當資訊無法跨系統共享時，公民會感受到這種碎片化。
因此，我們的方法必須是模組化的。我們必須提供並使用基於共享安全和彈性標準構建的通用數字元件，如安全登入和支付處理。機構不應重建已有的功能，而應重用、重組，專注於其使命的獨特之處。
去年，衛生科學局（HSA）加強了對電子煙的執法，需要一個新的運營系統。HSA基於GovTech和OGP的共享工具構建，如Ownself Gather（案件管理系統）和Plumber（允許官員自動化手動任務，如追蹤重複違法行為）。通過這種方式，他們的增強版電子煙資訊系統僅用三週時間上線。若從零開始構建，可能需要數月。
我們構建得越快，執法越快，公民的保護也越好。
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有些服務需要簡單、可靠的元件，我們必須抵制過度設計的誘惑。但有時，我們確實需要先進工具，幫助我們更快地構建更好的服務。
Henry Kwek先生詢問GovTech如何擁抱以人工智慧為中心的IT開發，並鼓勵供應商採用此類實踐。我們提供通用工具，如支援政府開發者和供應商程式碼補全的商業AI編碼助手。我們還為GovTech官員提供無需編寫程式碼即可構建和部署功能原型的AI工具。無論是公共服務部門還是我們的合同供應商，這些工具均遵循安全開發、安全AI使用和資料保護的標準。GovTech也在內部試點智慧AI編碼工具，計劃將這些能力推廣至整個政府。
我們的共享工具還幫助各機構構建更具包容性和以使用者為中心的服務。正如Sharael Taha先生強調的，基本政府服務應對所有人，包括殘障人士，均可訪問。
我們最有價值的共享工具之一是Oobee。它主動檢測政府網站的無障礙問題，並建議修復措施，如新增可由輔助技術朗讀的描述性文本，幫助視障使用者。自2023年以來，Oobee已掃描超過1600個網站。它讓我們看到，即使出於良好意圖，也可能存在盲點。
我們服務的成功建立在堅實的信任基礎上。新加坡人使用我們的數字服務，是因為他們信任這些服務的安全性，並相信自己正在與合法的政府官員打交道。冒充政府官員的詐騙是嚴重威脅，因為它直接攻擊這種信任。
Sharael Taha先生詢問我們保護公民免受詐騙的努力。我們已採取措施，例如統一政府簡訊的發件人ID為“gov.sg”。為方便公民識別並信任政府來電，OGP和信息通信媒體發展局（IMDA）正在開發系統，使各機構可使用以統一字首開頭的號碼撥打電話。後續還將顯示可識別的來電名稱。
許多詐騙者還使用本地SIM卡進行非法活動。為此，IMDA在諮詢新加坡警察部隊後，最近對所有電信運營商實施了每人最多持有10張後付費SIM卡的限制。政府還將在嚴格法律保障下，應用分析技術對SIM卡註冊資料進行監測，主動發現並阻斷潛在詐騙活動。這些措施重點識別可疑的註冊模式。
想象一下，從搭建一個初學者樂高套裝（可能是一個簡單的汽車，幾十塊積木，設計給兒童）到搭建完整的樂高教育SPIKE機器人。這不僅僅是積木數量的增加，而是技能、自信和雄心的不同層次。搭建者必須隨著挑戰成長。我們的公務員也必須隨挑戰成長。
許多忠誠且勤奮的公務員多年積累了工作技能。隨著周圍工具快速變化，這對一些人來說令人興奮，對另一些人則感到不安，彷彿他們辛苦培養的專業知識可能在尚未充分發揮前就被取代。
我們的工作不僅是提供安慰，更是提升能力。讓他們有信心使用新工具，思考：我能用這個工作，我能提出正確的問題，我能判斷輸出是否良好。
正如陳振聲部長早前提到的，我們已開始為內閣部長和高階公務員領導進行數字培訓。領導者設定條件。當他們理解數字環境時，能自信引導變革，向團隊提出正確問題。對更廣泛的公共服務部門，目標是確保沒有公務員在數字世界中感到無力。
數字政府部（MDDI）將與公務員學院共同成立數字政府學院。該學院將為公務員提供數字、資料、設計和人工智慧技能培訓。我們不僅關注技術，更關注設計以公民為中心且安全的解決方案。
我們還需解決不再支援需求的過時系統。這些系統是在數字化初期構建，採用當時流行的技術。如今，這些系統缺乏靈活性，成本高昂且難以整合，阻礙政策變革，妨礙資訊共享，影響無縫服務。我們已開始著手改造。重建系統需要時間，但我們致力於此，因為這是數字轉型的基礎。每次現代化努力都是重建更快、更互聯絡統的機會，更好地支援服務交付。
我已描述了提升政府數字服務的必要措施。我們必須持續瞭解公民，採用模組化構建，並培養應對複雜性的能力。我們將提升公務員技能，並逐步重建許多過時系統。
如果我們做得好，公民將感受到不同。他們與政府的互動將更簡單、更清晰、更有人情味，尤其是在公民精力有限時刻。
以新生兒父母為例。在那寶貴的最初幾天，最想要的是與寶寶共度時光，而非填寫多份表格。因此，我們圍繞這一生命時刻整合了服務。通過LifeSG，父母可以完成出生登記、申請嬰兒獎金和共享育兒假，減少大量文書工作。目標簡單：步驟更少，重複更少，家庭時間更多。
藉助人工智慧，我們可以更進一步，從被動響應服務轉向主動引導服務。
以SupportGoWhere門戶為例，它整合了31個機構的政府計劃。想象一下，面對近300個選項，涵蓋不同生命階段和需求，尋找支援的難度。我們的長者及其照護者告訴我們，他們感到資訊過載，路徑繁多，不知從何開始。因此，我們重新設計了體驗。長者支援推薦器會詢問他們幾個問題，然後利用人工智慧推薦最相關的計劃。我們仍在完善中，但這正是我們的方向：打造一個幫助公民找到所需資訊的政府，而非讓他們四處尋找。
提供更優質的服務也意味著我們寶貴的公共服務人員可以將時間和資源集中用於支援那些確實無法使用技術的人群。他們可以更及時地得到我們工作人員的服務。
更好的服務還必須更快捷，因為延誤不僅僅是行政上的問題。它們確實影響著真實的生活。這一點在醫療保健領域尤為重要。
隨著我們人口老齡化，對醫療專業人員的需求將增加。繁瑣的人工註冊流程可能成為引進護士的瓶頸，延誤護理。因此，我們正在簡化流程，重建專業註冊系統，以簡化和自動化對醫療專業人員的常規稽核。我們已將外國護士註冊的處理時間從最長六個月縮短至30天。對於等待護理的患者和家庭來說，這意味著更早的治療、更早的支援和減少焦慮。
這些例子不是值得讚賞的例外，而必須成為常態。我們所有政府工作人員都必須自問：如果我們負責一項政策，它是否以最簡便的方式實施？如果我們設計一項服務，要問自己：我會接受這種體驗給我自己的家人嗎？
我們的轉型不會一蹴而就，但這是我們將堅持的標準。
主席先生，建設數字能力不僅僅是追逐技術，更是提升我們的服務標準。新加坡人越來越多地將我們與他們日常生活中最好的數字體驗進行比較，而不僅僅是與其他政府相比。這是標準，我們有責任達到。
主席：數字發展與資訊國務部長拉哈尤·馬哈贊。
數字發展與資訊國務部長（拉哈尤·馬哈贊女士）：主席先生，雖然技術讓我們的生活更便捷，並承諾更美好的未來，但我們必須確保我們的數字社會保持安全和充滿活力。
政府將繼續在保護最易受網路傷害的人群方面發揮重要作用。同時，我們也必須賦能公民，培養他們在當今數字世界中，尤其是在人工智慧興起背景下，導航和學習的技能與信心。我將概述數字發展與信息部在這些領域的努力。
讓我先談談網路傷害。我們許多人都聽說過，甚至認識遭受網路傷害的人。有些受害者經歷過網路跟蹤，有些人的私密照片被濫用。受害者及其家人常常承受巨大痛苦和無助。
這就是為什麼去年十一月議會通過的《網路安全（救濟與問責）法案》如此重要。
作為《網路安全（救濟與問責）法案》的一部分，我們將成立一個新機構——網路安全委員會（OSC）。OSC將在今年上半年成立。它將首先支援五類高度普遍且嚴重的網路傷害受害者：網路騷擾、私密影像濫用、基於影像的兒童虐待、網路曝光（doxxing）和網路跟蹤。經評估受害者報告後，OSC可發出指令，停用有害網路內容的訪問或限制施害者的網路賬戶。
即使我們設立OSC提供額外支援渠道，我知道許多家長自然擔心孩子的日常數字活動。兒童是最活躍的數字使用者之一，許多家長在監控孩子數字使用與其他事務之間疲於奔命。數字發展與信息部2025年的數字育兒研究顯示，超過半數受訪者希望政府提供更多支援，包括更強有力的立法，幫助他們管理孩子的數字活動。
何亭如女士詢問了更好保護兒童免受社交媒體相關傷害和風險的努力。
我們採取了漸進的監管措施，回應家長和社會的關切。過去三年，我們推出了兩項《網路安全行為準則》。準則要求指定的社交媒體服務和應用商店儘量減少新加坡使用者，尤其是兒童接觸有害內容。準則還要求指定社交媒體服務和應用商店向信息通信媒體發展局（IMDA）提交年度網路安全報告。IMDA目前正在評估2025年指定社交媒體服務提交的年度網路安全報告。IMDA的總體報告將在指定社交媒體服務報告準備好後一併釋出。
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目前，我們在現實世界中已有年齡驗證措施，比如超市或便利店在銷售限制年齡的商品（如酒精或菸草）前檢查顧客身份證件。從本月底起，指定應用商店必須實施年齡驗證措施，防止18歲以下使用者訪問和下載不適齡應用。
隨著新風險不斷出現，網路安全仍是全球持續的挑戰。一些海外地區已宣佈或實施社交媒體禁令。新加坡也希望加強對兒童的網路保護，我們希望正確且全面地推進。
數字發展與信息部繼續研究社交媒體禁令的影響，計劃將年齡驗證要求擴充套件至指定社交媒體服務。這將更好地確保網路服務對使用者，包括兒童，適齡。與指定社交媒體服務的磋商正在進行中，更多細節將於今年晚些時候公佈。
政府對應用商店和社交媒體服務之外的網路傷害保持警惕。一些家長表達了對網路影片遊戲帶來傷害的擔憂，包括接觸不當內容、網路欺凌和螢幕成癮。我們認識到這些關切，正在研究是否需要對網路影片遊戲實施保護措施。
我們也關注其他可能威脅網路安全的線上服務。正如何亭如女士指出的，一個例子是人工智慧被濫用生成不雅內容，如性內容和暴力內容，且即時大規模生成。嵌入社交媒體服務的聊天機器人帶來獨特風險，使用者包括兒童更易訪問。
何女士還提到一個令人擔憂的趨勢，即使用者利用X平臺的聊天機器人Grok的提示，替換成人和兒童的衣服為暴露服裝，如比基尼。信息通信媒體發展局正在與X平臺就此問題進行接觸。我們注意到X已在全球範圍內採取了一些措施應對此事。我們將繼續密切監控，並與X合作提升新加坡使用者在其平臺上的網路安全。若指定社交媒體服務未遵守社交媒體服務行為準則，我們將毫不猶豫地追究責任。我們也在研究是否需要對人工智慧聊天機器人實施保護措施，以更好地防範濫用帶來的傷害。
雖然家長可以期待更強的保護措施來防止兒童遭受網路傷害，但家長在培養兒童健康數字習慣方面也扮演重要角色。數字時代的育兒無疑充滿挑戰。我們經常聽到孩子在家庭晚餐時沉迷裝置，或家長感到被排除在孩子的數字空間之外。有些人甚至形容當今育兒如同逆流而上，在多重優先事項中掙扎求生。這些擔憂是真實存在的，我們希望家長知道他們並不孤單。
為應對這些擔憂，數字發展與信息部已推出家長資源，並加強努力使其在社群更易獲取。家長可通過IMDA的“數字生活”門戶獲取指導孩子數字互動的建議。這些建議針對育兒旅程中的不同數字裡程碑，如孩子首次使用裝置、首次使用社交媒體和首次玩網路遊戲。
有幼兒的家庭還將獲得數字育兒工作坊和網路研討會的支援。這些課程設計滿足不同需求，有的支援幼兒家長，有的則面向可能遇到更復雜網路情況的青少年家庭。我們將繼續加大對數字育兒的支援力度，歡迎大家提出改進建議。
為數字世界做好準備，不僅要求我們成為安全的網路使用者，還要成為有目的、有辨識力的學習者。正如郭振賢先生和李慧穎女士所強調的，我們需要為學生和教育者準備一個人工智慧賦能的未來。教育者在培養學生關鍵技能方面發揮著關鍵作用。
國務部長劉潔敏早前談及提升公共部門數字能力。我們也在加大力度提升教育者對科技的知識和理解。去年，數字發展局（MDDI）與教育部（MOE）推出了智慧國教育者獎學金，首屆共有58名學員參加。我很高興收到的反饋積極。許多參與者表示，智慧國教育者獎學金提升了他們引導學生成為有思考力和責任感的科技使用者的能力。
裕廊中學歷史科首席教師易扎爾·薩尼是智慧國教育者獎學金的學員之一。在一項關於新加坡華人移民社群的中一歷史探究專案中，易扎爾的學生利用人工智慧進行歷史“苦力”訪談，並使用ElevenLabs或谷歌NotebookLM製作自己的AI播客。此類舉措展示了教育科技在課堂上的強大力量，學生們批判性地評估從AI工具獲取的資訊，以提升學習效果。
今年，我們正在最佳化該獎學金，聚焦人工智慧的力量與可能性。通過工作坊和行業參訪，教育者將更好地理解AI在職場中的相關性，從而支援學生髮展AI技能和能力。我們將更新學校課程以滿足新興需求，正如我們以往所做的那樣。正如總理所言，AI素養是基本的數字能力，未來將變得更加重要。
沙拉爾·塔哈先生和達里爾·大衛先生詢問政府計劃如何讓每個孩子無論背景如何都能獲得數字技能和工具。我們將繼續確保AI素養專案在學校中保持可及性。
數字發展局正與教育部合作，更新小學和中學的“Code for Fun”專案，將AI技能納入所有學生的核心基礎能力。該專案將於2027年向所有學校推廣。小學生將學習AI基礎知識，如製作數字故事書；中學生將學習利用AI為現實問題創造解決方案。在學生嘗試和學習AI的過程中，也將瞭解其風險、侷限性及負責任的使用方式。
對於低收入家庭，數字發展局的DigitalAccess@Home計劃將繼續通過補貼寬頻和計算裝置給予支援。
感謝法茲利·法茲維先生、陳潔儀女士和沙拉爾·塔哈先生對加強公民數字素養和韌性公共教育舉措的關注，包括對長者和殘障人士的支援。如今，公民可以通過數字發展局的“數字技能終身學習”資源掌握在數字空間中導航的技能，包括如何自信且安全地使用生成式AI，以及如何識別AI風險，如錯誤資訊、詐騙和深度偽造。
我們的圖書館也是數字學習的重要接觸點。國家圖書館局（NLB）的S.U.R.E專案（即來源、理解、研究、評估）鼓勵新加坡人評估資訊的可信度和可靠性。NLB將推出新的資源包和推廣專案，提升資訊素養技能。NLB還將在公共圖書館及其他公共場所舉辦巡迴體驗展，公眾可體驗AI的用途和益處，以及如何安全、負責任地使用生成式AI。
我們將繼續為弱勢群體提供有針對性的支援。在新加坡各地的SG數字社群中心，長者可以學習如何使用數字服務處理日常事務，如預約醫療和手機銀行。我想向林淑儀女士保證，政府將繼續採取“數字優先，但非僅數字”的策略。需要面對面支援的公民，尤其是長者，仍可在政府機構的實體服務點和ServiceSG中心獲得幫助。
我們還將繼續與“數字生活”合作伙伴協作，幫助殘障人士有意義地參與數字世界。例如，新加坡導盲犬協會開發了一套工具包，幫助視障社群成員學習使用智慧手機上的低視力輔助功能，如VoiceOver功能。
通過這些努力，我們正在建設一個包容的新加坡，讓每位公民都能從我們的數字未來中受益。先生，請允許我用馬來語說幾句話。
（馬來語）：[請參閱本地語演講。] 主席先生，掌握新技能有時會感到艱難，但在同伴和社群的支援下，學習體驗會更加有意義。數字技術，包括人工智慧，已成為我們日常生活和未來工作的關鍵組成部分。因此，我們每個人不僅要具備數字技能，還要自信且深思熟慮地使用它們。每個人的數字旅程處於不同階段，有些人剛開始探索和嘗試，有些人則專注於提升技術技能並付諸實踐。
為了實現我們對AI自信的馬來/穆斯林社群的願景，M³推出了由MENDAKI基金會領導的Langkah Digital計劃。正如我上個月宣佈的，Langkah Digital圍繞三個關鍵元素設計——Kenal（認識）、Guna（使用）、Yakin（自信）。Kenal幫助人們瞭解安全的數字探索；Guna鼓勵將技術融入日常生活；Yakin培養終身數字學習，使社群能夠獨立適應。這種循序漸進的方法讓我們能夠接觸社群不同群體，提供符合其數字旅程階段的支援。
秉持我們的“gotong-royong”（互助）精神，MENDAKI將匯聚整個社群，包括M³家庭、馬來/穆斯林組織、MENDAKI專業網路，以及來自公共和私營部門的合作伙伴。一個好例子是AI工程師盧克曼·努爾·哈基姆，他主動支援Langkah Digital。
盧克曼在阿爾凱爾清真寺主持了超過30名參與者的AI課程，併為超過60名參與者舉辦了AI工作坊。這些專案滿足了社群中不同能力和興趣的個體需求。有些介紹了ChatGPT等AI工具，有些則專注於更高階的技能，如提示工程。
像盧克曼這樣的數字冠軍是Langkah Digital的推動力。他們不僅幫助不同群體聚集，還促進圍繞技術的有意義對話與合作。
儘管該專案剛於上月啟動，我很欣慰我們已在社群舉辦了12場與AI相關的工作坊和活動，參與人數超過400人。我希望Langkah Digital能賦能更多社群成員。
（英語）：主席先生，隨著技術不斷發展，單純提升技術技能已不夠。要明智地利用AI，我們需要提出正確的問題，並對得到的答案保持辨別力。因此，我們的孩子需要從小培養有效閱讀和處理資訊的能力。
我強調閱讀，是因為在資訊以極快速度、常以短格式和視覺形式呈現的世界中，閱讀技能正日益面臨風險。閱讀是學習新技能的基礎。它提升注意力，培養批判性思維，激發創造力和同理心。這些都是我們利用技術造福自己和他人的關鍵素質。因此，推廣閱讀對於應對議員們提出的AI可能帶來的社會和智力退化問題至關重要。
李嘉欣女士詢問國家圖書館局如何以家庭為中心重新整理圖書館的角色。我們可以從鼓勵家長從小培養孩子良好的閱讀習慣開始。這也為我們的孩子在裝置氾濫的時代提供了無螢幕的替代選擇。
這就是為什麼國家圖書館局將繼續與教育部合作，加強學校圖書館專案。這包括即將舉辦的未來學校圖書管理員峰會和網路研討會，賦能學生圖書管理員成為閱讀倡導者和資訊素養的推廣者。學生圖書管理員還可以通過志願服務、學生實習和學習之旅拓寬學習。國家圖書館局將加大力度培養良好閱讀習慣，相關計劃將適時公佈。
我們的圖書館還在儲存和分享新加坡故事方面發揮著重要作用。這些故事構成了我們社群的基石，確保我們的集體經歷不會被時間遺忘。
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為紀念新加坡獨立60週年，國家圖書館局（NLB）和數字發展局（MDDI）聯合推出了《信天翁檔案》一書及展覽，記錄了圍繞新加坡獨立歷程的事件、人物和辯論。我感謝Christopher de Souza先生對參與團隊的讚揚。該展覽在公眾中反響強烈，自去年12月以來，已有超過13萬人次參觀；96%的參觀者表示他們對新加坡走向獨立的道路有了更深刻的理解。
針對Fadli Fawzi先生指出展覽內容與他在學校所學不同的觀察，新加坡與馬來西亞分離一事歷來存在不同觀點。這並不令人意外，鑑於歷史記載的性質。
例如，1990年代初期解密的英國、澳大利亞和紐西蘭檔案反映了其外交官和政府的視角。1998年，新加坡官員的完整視角版本也得以公開。Albert Lau教授的《痛苦時刻》仍是關於分離事件最權威的記述。新加坡開國總理李光耀先生的回憶錄第一卷也包含了引人入勝的敘述。
正如《信天翁檔案：分離內幕》編輯說明中所述，理解分離事件所需的重要材料均未被隱瞞。所公佈的檔案均為完整影印，未作刪節。公眾，包括議員，可前往新加坡國家檔案館查閱所有解密材料，自行形成細緻入微的觀點。
Fadli先生還提出了《資訊自由法案》的建議，主張自動解密並在25年後公開發布檔案。
一些國家實施類似立法的經驗顯示，大多數甚至全部都會有例外條款。事實上，實施《資訊自由法案》可能無意中導致更多不透明。託尼·布萊爾2010年回憶錄中記錄了他對英國《資訊自由法案》的看法，該法案在他任首相期間頒佈。他卸任後表示：“《資訊自由法案》……是一部危險的法案，因為政府需要能夠在保密環境下辯論、討論和決定問題。沒有保密，人們會有所顧忌，選項的考慮會受到限制，這不利於良好決策。在所有走這條路的體制中，結果是人們會注意自己寫下的內容，談話時不願寫成文字。這是分析複雜問題的極差方式。”
換言之，《資訊自由法案》可能阻礙而非促進治理，因為被視為過於敏感的問題根本不會被記錄。因此，我們的出發點應是優先實現促進良好治理和知情公民的透明度，而非單純追求透明。
我們已有機制允許公眾申請查閱政府檔案以供參考或研究，歷史學家和研究人員也利用此機制提名檔案進行審查。政府已逐步向公眾開放更多檔案，並將繼續如此。
新加坡故事不僅加深我們對歷史的理解，也使我們能夠重新想象未來。去年下半年吸引了兩百萬訪客的SG60心靈體驗，讓新加坡人表達對國家的希望和夢想。我很高興聽到該體驗反響良好，大多數訪客給予五分滿分評價。
該體驗也是利用數字創新的範例，如人工智慧和沉浸式敘事，呈現多感官體驗。結合國家圖書館局的資源，訪客有機會學習如何在日常生活中使用人工智慧。
最後，主席先生，隨著數字技術日益複雜和先進，其改變社會和生活的潛力，無論好壞，前所未有。
正如馬來諺語所言：“Berat sama dipikul, ringan sama dijinjing。”我們共同承擔責任，攜手克服大小挑戰。善用技術利好並減輕其負面影響，需的不僅是技術知識。最終，我們需要全社會共同努力，匯聚政府、產業、學術界、公民社會和公民的經驗與視角。
讓我們攜手為子孫後代開創光明而充滿希望的數字未來。[掌聲]
主席：我們大約有25分鐘時間進行澄清發言。我將優先安排已提交發言時間的議員，按其申請時間長短排序。Sharael Taha先生。
Sharael Taha先生：謝謝主席。我感謝部長及政治職務持有人詳盡的回應。我有幾個補充問題。
我相信部長還未有機會回應我關於國家人工智慧理事會（NAIC）角色的發言。NAIC的具體職責是什麼？它是否擁有執行權，還是負責跨部委實施監督，或僅為諮詢性質？NAIC如何整合貿工部（MTI）下的經濟戰略與數字發展局（MDDI）下的數字治理，確保協調推進？
另外，關於國家人工智慧戰略2.0（NAIS 2.0），目前進展如何？我們從實施NAIS 2.0中學到了什麼，這些經驗如何影響當前計劃？
我最後一個補充問題是關於信任和監管公信力。Josephine Teo部長提到新加坡以信任和監管公信力著稱。我們如何將這種信任轉化為實際操作？是否考慮為金融、醫療和航空等高風險人工智慧系統建立正式的可信AI認證制度？這或許能成為我們的差異化優勢和競爭力。
主席：Josephine Teo部長。
Josephine Teo女士：主席，問題不少，我會盡力回答。
或許先回應Sharael Taha先生關於我們從NAIS 2.0實施中學到的經驗。總理於2023年12月啟動了NAIS 2.0，至今剛剛超過兩年。如果說到目前為止的學習，或許有兩三個關鍵觀察。
首先，或許可以參考貿工部早前發放的資料——關於“人工智慧巷”（Kampong AI）的例子。我記得2023年左右，我們曾訪問舊金山一個被稱為“Cerebral Valley”的角落。那裡極具吸引力，因為駭客屋充滿活力。大學早晨釋出論文，晚上就有講座，人們會說這是我的應用方案。一週後，原型已建成，風險投資者被邀請展示。你能感受到那種令人羨慕的熱潮。
我們問自己：我們能做到嗎？當時我們並不清楚本地生態系統是否足夠全面，能圍繞人工智慧活動形成中心。於是我們決定從“人工智慧巷”開始。
起初並未稱為“人工智慧巷”，我們只是決定必須將社群聚集起來。那時我們還沒有“Cerebral Valley”，只是想看看能否起步。結果發展速度遠超預期，規模也更大。去年，“人工智慧巷”舉辦了約150場活動，吸引約4000人。正因如此，我們有信心推進“人工智慧村”。
但反思和經驗是什麼？就是可以從小做起，但要有遠大夢想。不必總是採取一蹴而就的方式。這是第一點觀察。
第二點觀察是關於我們如何落實想法，實際上，差距是機會。讓我稍作解釋。
在開展“人工智慧巷”後，我們也在建設人工智慧卓越中心。如果沒有人工智慧卓越中心的良好勢頭，推動人工智慧冠軍計劃將很難起步。沒有基礎，難以推進。
其中一個卓越中心專注製造業。觀察該中心的活動後，我們意識到某些行業卓越中心可以解決共性問題。這使我們想到某些行業已具備端到端轉型的準備。
因此，國家人工智慧任務也在此基礎上發展而來。隨後我們自問，產業界已有活動，政府也有人工智慧活動，正如國務部長Jasmin Lau所述，研究領域也積極發展。
微軟在新加坡已多年，但直到去年才設立研究實體。谷歌DeepMind也決定在此開設辦公室。
這告訴我們，研究活動正在加快步伐，因為人工智慧頂尖人才被大膽的抱負和願意解決重大問題的精神所吸引，這些問題困擾著許多人。所以，我們需要有這樣的精神。
這些差距，作為機會，特別適用於人才領域。我們已經開始廣泛思考人工智慧創造者。比如微軟研究院、谷歌DeepMind的人才。例如，在谷歌DeepMind的新加坡團隊，他們正在為最新的Gemini模型的發展做出貢獻。
所以，我們考慮過人工智慧創造者，也考慮過人工智慧實踐者——機器學習工程師、資料科學家——還考慮過使用者——廣泛的基礎。在實施卓越中心的過程中，我們也意識到，在這之間，需要既理解人工智慧（不一定是最深層次），又具備良好領域專業知識的人才。有一種觀點認為，需要“通雙語”的人才——既懂人工智慧，又懂其領域知識，並能將兩者結合起來。
即使在我們思考人工智慧人才光譜時，原本的差距現在反而成為我們可以採取行動的機會。這是第二個反思。
第三點特別針對您關於國家人工智慧理事會（NAIC）角色的問題。
有一句廣為人知的話，我們常用它來談論社會團結。這是非洲的一句諺語：“如果你想走得快，就獨自走；如果你想走得遠，就一起走。”
事實證明，這句話同樣適用於人工智慧的發展。如果我們只侷限於各垂直領域內部的努力——比如MDDI做這個，MTI做那個——我認為我們各自都會有效率，但無法實現協同效應。Lorong AI可以變成Kampong AI，因為有JTC。如果JTC沒有抓住這個理念，這種增長就不會出現。
因此，NAIC正是為了做這些事情。把整體聚合起來，使整體大於部分之和。
如今，各機構已經開始合作，但往往是一對一的合作，而我們需要的是多對多的合作，並且需要機制來理清優先事項、資源投放、探索是否走入死衚衕，以及可能需要的政策調整。
所以，NAIC不僅僅是一個諮詢角色。我們的總理事務繁忙，他在很多方面給我們提供建議，但他擔任國家人工智慧理事會主席，是一個非常強烈的訊號，表明我們熱衷於讓人工智慧轉型惠及所有新加坡人，而不僅僅是停留在願景層面。我們必須將其變為現實。這就是它的目的。
下午5點45分
主席先生，很快回答，關於信任和監管公信力的問題，以及我們是否會設立相關機構。
事實上，我們已經採取了措施。例如，除了引入模型治理框架外，我們還設立了數字信任中心，作為指定的人工智慧安全研究所。我們還有線上安全先進技術中心。這些機構在學術組織內發展起來，但我們會尋求與產業界、學術界合作的機會，看看如何將這項能力制度化，並轉化為新加坡的優勢。
主席：Jessica Tan女士。
Jessica Tan Soon Neo女士：先生，首先，我感謝部長談及人工智慧影響計劃和人工智慧民主化。我認為這非常重要，所以我想從個人和公民的角度澄清一些問題。普通公民如何期待人工智慧影響計劃？他們如何參與？他們該如何利用這個計劃？
我還有一個相關問題，關於人工智慧的數字素養。我提到過生命週期階段的問題。我們在為公民甚至員工考慮數字素養時，如何確保從生命週期階段而非僅僅年齡或個人檔案的角度來考慮？
還有一個關於負責任人工智慧的問題。鑑於人工智慧現在被廣泛使用，且在許多關鍵決策領域應用，政府如何確保並將如何確保偏見不會被延續？最後一點是關於包容性。鑑於人工智慧將深刻融入我們的生活，無法忽視，我們如何考慮多語言支援，幫助那些英語不太流利的人？
Josephine Teo女士：主席先生，關於公民如何接觸國家人工智慧影響計劃，這不僅僅通過MDDI和IMDA監管的渠道。我們會與行業協會、商會以及專業團體緊密合作進行推廣。這些中介機構對此非常感興趣，我們歡迎他們的參與。
我們已有現有專案作為良好基礎。例如，企業解決方案主要通過生產力解決方案補助計劃提供。許多企業對該補助計劃非常熟悉，中介機構也熟悉。我之前提到，大約30%的解決方案現在具備人工智慧功能。由於興趣和工具的可用性，這一比例可能會增長。
如果我們看已經使用數字工具的企業，議員可以想象供應商會告訴企業，“如果你在此基礎上增加這個人工智慧工具，實際上你能做更多以前做不到的事情。”這是一種在已有良好基礎上推廣的方式。
對於個人，我提到我們將從會計和法律專業開始，然後擴充套件到人力資源等領域。比如人力資源領域有大約5萬名從業者。通過他們自己的機制，也能接觸到個人。這些是我們推廣國家人工智慧影響計劃訪問的不同途徑。
我們歡迎建議。如果有人來告訴我們“你們可以這樣做”，我們非常願意瞭解如何做。我相信我們的高等院校也非常參與，因為他們與私營部門互動，許多學生有興趣原型設計解決方案並實施，我們也會關注這些。
關於議員提到的負責任人工智慧偏見問題，如何確保不被延續。我們對人工智慧潛在風險和危害的應對是多管齊下的。在某些情況下，我們已有的保障措施可能需要加強。例如，人工智慧可能助長的色情內容、兒童性剝削材料，這些在刑法中已被禁止。我們可以更新刑法以明確規定。我們也會考慮類似《職場公平法》的情況，如果招聘過程中出現偏見，可以依靠該法，因為它不依賴於不公平或歧視產生的具體方式，我們可以這樣處理。
但也有現有法律和措施不足以應對的情況。例如，我們引入了《選舉（網路廣告誠信）法案》（ELIONA），專門應對選舉環境中針對候選人的人工智慧生成內容。我們將繼續保持靈活應對，利用現有法律，必要時加強法律，也不猶豫在明確可行時引入新措施。
這些就是我們的做法。關於包容性，我完全同意您的觀點，多重包容性。我也完全同意多語言支援——或許我會請數字發展與資訊高階國務部長陳杰豪先生回應，因為他一直在這方面工作。
數字發展與資訊高階國務部長（陳杰豪先生）：先生，關於Josephine部長提到的包容性，特別是語言方面，我來詳細說明。
眾所周知，新加坡是一個多語種社會，不同社群對他們的語言，尤其是母語，感到非常自豪。MDDI工作的一個部分，特別是MDDI中的“I”部分，是關於資訊的。我們設有一個委員會，彙集了學者、媒體代表、學校人員，圍繞翻譯工作。這就是國家翻譯委員會，我協助監督該委員會。
我們正在進行的一個專案，是關於翻譯的，這也是我們如何思考為人工智慧提供實用工具的一個很好的例子。翻譯不僅僅是使用任何工具、任何大型語言模型（LLM），因為你需要本地語境、本地細微差別，例如，並非所有人都理解“chope the table”（佔座）的意思。
那麼，如何將一些本地術語，特別是本地特定語境的術語，翻譯成不同的母語語言呢？國家翻譯委員會一直與GovTech和科學技術研究局（A*STAR）合作，針對多個大型語言模型進行本地語境的微調。目標之一是希望在今年晚些時候擁有一個模型，使不講英語的人士能夠更包容、更便捷地訪問我們的面向公眾的網站和其他資料。並支援公共服務機構更輕鬆地將許多以英語編寫的材料翻譯成不同的母語語言——馬來語、普通話、泰米爾語。
我們如何在整個公共服務系統中大規模地實現這一目標？因此，我們正在開發一個人工智慧工具，希望在今年晚些時候分享更多細節。這只是我們使用人工智慧技術的一個具體例子。我們不僅僅是“複製貼上”其他國家的做法，而是針對本地語境進行微調、適應和定製，以創造價值併為所有新加坡人增添包容性元素。我們希望稍後分享更多細節，並希望獲得所有議員的支援。
主席：我們快到截止時間了，我再請一位議員提問。黃偉賢先生。
黃偉賢先生：主席，我想問MDDI，鑑於我們正在大幅改變與市民互動的方式，MDDI如何設定並傳達正確的期望值。我讚賞MDDI在電子服務轉型方面的雄心和決心。簡而言之，我們要求政府用更少的資源做更多的事；做得更快；做得不同，不僅僅是與政府交易，還包括向民眾提供建議，比如SupportGoWhere。因此，這是一場政府服務方式的重大轉型。
而且，我們不是通過編碼開發服務，而是要求公務員協調人工智慧代理進行編碼。這是相當不同的方式。新的做法總是存在初期不順利的風險。那麼，我們如何設定正確的期望？我認為勞明霞國務部長提到，新加坡人對電子服務有很高的期望。
也許我們可以借鑑谷歌的做法，當他們向我們所有人提供服務時，會有谷歌Beta版、谷歌預覽版，用這些方式向民眾傳達某些服務——
主席：黃偉賢先生。
黃偉賢先生：——可能是試驗性質，我們如何更好地傳達期望？好了，我說到這裡。
主席：張燕菁部長，請簡明回應。
張燕菁部長：勞明霞國務部長可以補充，但我先簡要談談市民的期望。我們並不認為這是負面的。議員和我都經常使用數字服務。作為市民，希望政府在數字政府服務交付方面做得更好，是很自然的事情。因此，我們希望對自己有更高的標準。
但議員的觀點非常有用，需要牢記的是，關於失敗的期望，關於我們可能需要引入更多安全措施而犧牲一些便利性的期望，這是我們需要向更多人普及的。
在網路安全領域，我們常說這是一個權衡。當事情能夠非常快速推進時，你會擔心安全功能是否已被妥善內建，有時我們需要優先考慮安全而非便利。因此，對於我們可能提供的一些服務，我們並不確定是否需要那種措施，我們會嘗試不故意製造不便。但如果確實需要，我們必須向民眾解釋並妥善處理。我不知道勞明霞國務部長是否想補充。
主席：勞明霞國務部長，您有一分鐘時間。
勞明霞國務部長：感謝黃偉賢先生的提問，這讓我們有機會向新加坡其他市民解釋我們如何努力最佳化。我剛才提到更快更好的服務，但非常重要的是，我們不能只把數字轉型看作一兩個指標。我們的系統必須既快速又安全，高效又有韌性，雄心勃勃又值得信賴。因此，我們不能只最佳化某一方面。希望更多新加坡人能理解，我們必須在速度、安全、成本和信任等各方面進行最佳化。
主席：謝謝國務部長。關於此事，沙拉爾·塔哈先生，您是否願意撤回您的修正案？
沙拉爾·塔哈先生：我本想再問一個補充問題，但我會聽從您的指示，主席。
主席：不，不，不。[笑聲]
下午6時
沙拉爾·塔哈先生：好的，主席，我藉此機會感謝張燕菁部長、高階國務部長陳杰厚、國務部長拉哈尤、勞明霞國務部長以及MDDI常任秘書和整個MDDI團隊的回應和出色工作。我還要感謝我們的GPC和各位議員提交了25項削減建議，並進行了超過三小時的辯論，事無鉅細；我相信我們中還有不少人想再問幾個補充問題。
人工智慧在本預算中佔據重要位置。人工智慧不是傳統的政策領域，它的發展不是以十年計，而是以月甚至周計。前沿模型在短週期內容量翻倍，具備自主決策能力的代理系統正在出現，地緣政治爭端影響——
主席：沙拉爾·塔哈先生。
沙拉爾·塔哈先生：——能源、資料流和供應鏈。然而，在這種模糊和高速變化中——
主席：沙拉爾·塔哈先生。
沙拉爾·塔哈先生：——MDDI必須同時兼顧多項任務，推動創新，維護信任，培養深厚且廣泛的技能，保護弱勢群體，確保國家競爭力。這絕非易事，我感謝MDDI團隊所做的一切。基於此，主席，我請求撤回我的修正案。
[(程式文本) 修正案，經許可，撤回。 (程式文本)]
[(程式文本) 2,993,365,900元撥款用於Q項，列入主要預算。 (程式文本)]
[(程式文本) 119,025,200元撥款用於Q項，列入發展預算。 (程式文本)]
英文原文
SPRS Hansard · Fetched: 2026-05-02
The Chairman : Head Q, Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI). Mr Sharael Taha.
3.17 pm
Enabling AI as Strategic Advantage
Mr Sharael Taha (Pasir Ris-Changi) : Thank you, Mr Chairman. Mr Chairman, I move, "That the total sum to be allocated for Head Q of the Estimates be reduced by $100".
Mr Chairman, artificial intelligence (AI) features prominently in this Budget and this House has long recognised its importance. From a National AI Strategy in 2019 to a National AI Strategy 2.0 (NAIS 2.0) in 2023, we have moved from experimentation to scaling. The MDDI Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) has consistently championed across six key themes. Our cuts today reflect coordinated scrutiny.
First, strengthening Singapore's AI value proposition. My cuts would seek clarity on our global competitive edge and the role of the National AI Council while Dr Choo Pei Ling and Ms Jessica Tan will press on delivering measurable outcomes, not just technical activity.
Second, building deep and broad digital capabilities. Mr Henry Kwek, Dr Choo Pei Ling, Ms Cassandra Lee and I will deliver cuts on how we are scaling AI skills across our workforce and enabling multinational enterprises (MNEs) and also small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to adopt AI meaningfully.
Third, ensuring ethical digital governance. Mr Christopher de Souza, Ms Jessica Tan, Ms Tin Pei Ling and I will be delivering cuts on the regulatory safeguards and accountability frameworks to ensure ethical and responsible growth, particularly as we move towards more autonomous, agentic AI systems.
Fourth, inclusive growth and uplifting vulnerable groups through technology. Ms Cassandra Lee and myself will deliver cuts on creating opportunities for fresh graduates, youth, seniors and lower-income groups so technology expands opportunity.
Fifth, investing in infrastructure and cybersecurity. Ms Jessica Tan and I will examine how we are strengthening our cybersecurity posture amidst increasingly sophisticated AI-enabled threats.
Sixth, building a high-trust digital society. Ms Tin Pei Ling and Ms Jessica Tan will raise cuts on trust, safety and protection from scams, deepfakes and online harms.
These cuts reflect our GPC that has been deliberate, aligned and persistent in championing the work together with the Ministry to secure Singapore's digital future.
Mr Chairman, allow me to begin on my first cut on strengthening Singapore's AI value proposition to the world and remaining relevant to the global market.
Mr Chairman, the global AI race has accelerated dramatically. At the recent Global AI Summit, it was clear we have entered an era of frontier and foundational models powered by massive compute and multimodal capabilities.
Generative AI (GenAI) is no longer experimental. It is embedded in enterprises, public services and national systems. The shift towards agentic AI and AI-native enterprises signals structural transformation.
This transformation is unfolding at three levels. First, population scale. In China, AI is integrated across platforms serving hundreds of millions. In the United States (US), AI co-pilots are embedded in productivity tools used today globally. In India, AI is woven into telecommunications and digital services at a national scale. AI is now part of daily workflows.
Second, compute scale. The race is not just about compute dominance. Next generation chips are being ordered at unprecedented volumes. Hyperscalers are investing billions in data centres. India has announced ambitions to attract up to US$200 billion in AI and data centre investments while the Middle East and the European Union (EU) are securing sovereign compute capacity. Chips, data centres and energy are now strategic infrastructure.
Third, industrial scale. AI is embedded in manufacturing, logistics, defence and energy systems. This is about industrial competitiveness and national capability. As capability accelerates, responsibility must keep pace. Safety alignment evaluation and red teaming are essential. Trust will determine who can scale.
Singapore cannot compete on population or compute scales, but we can compete on precision, trust, regulatory credibility and deep sectoral integration. This is not just about technology. This is about jobs and national competitiveness.
What is Singapore's unique value proposition in the global AI landscape? How do we compete against the population scale, computing scale and industrial scale of AI giants, like the US, China and India? How do we leverage on our high-trust governance, regulatory credibility and deep sectoral concentration?
Hence, I welcome the announcement of our National AI Council.
For it to succeed, clarity of mandate and the ability to execute are critical. What precisely is its role? Will it have execution authority, oversee cross-Ministry implementation, or remain advisory?
In a fast-moving AI race, structure must lead to decisive action. How will the council integrate economic strategy under the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) with digital governance under MDDI to ensure coordinated delivery?
The National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2.0 (NAIS 2.0) was launched in 2023. What progress has been made? Will the council build on and strengthen it, rather than duplicate or dilute existing efforts? How will interagency friction be resolved when priorities compete?
Finally, how will the council stay connected to industry realities? Will the industry leaders support it and be part of the council? Will SMEs have a meaningful voice at the table?
Thus, I am supportive of a concerted effort to focus resource on our national AI Missions and have champions of AI to accelerate AI deployment. However, I would like to seek clarification from the Ministry.
How did the Government determine the four key sectors for the national AI Missions? What criteria were used? What defines the success for these missions? It must go beyond pilots to measurable, real economic and societal outcomes. As we move at pace, when will we consider expanding into additional missions? I hope they are in months.
Finally, how do we define and measure success for our AI champions in terms of capability, adoption, global competitiveness and real impact on jobs and productivity?
On my last point. For us to be relevant in a global AI supply chain, we must prepare for compute infrastructure.
What is our plan to develop more compute capability? In light of the geopolitical tensions, we cannot rely solely on compute demand being supported predominantly from overseas. How much of sovereign AI compute capacity do we have? How do we be less dependent on others for compute capacity? Also, what is our clean or renewable energy strategy to support our AI-scaled data centres?
[(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]
The Chairman : Mr Sharael Taha. You may take your three cuts together.
AI as Strategic Advantage
Mr Sharael Taha : Thank you, Mr Chairman. If Singapore is to harness AI as a strategic advantage, three enablers must move together – deep and broad workforce capabilities, widespread enterprise adoption, including SMEs and strong ethical governance. The Government has introduced multiple grants, including Chief Technology Officer (CTO)-as-a-Service. What measurable progress have we made in accelerating AI transformation? Where are the gaps?
[Deputy Speaker (Mr Xie Yao Quan) in the Chair]
Unlocking AI's value requires more than just tools. It requires re-engineering business processes and redefining operating models. How are we helping enterprises integrate AI into core workflows and build AI-ready teams and deliver tangible productivity gains?
For SMEs, three constraints persist: cost of talent, lack of validated use cases and integration complexity. If AI adoption concentrates among only the large enterprises, productivity and wage gaps will widen for the SMEs. We must move from advisory support to shared capability infrastructure.
Hence, I propose three enhancements.
First, evolve our CTO-as-a-Service into AI capabilities as a service, where pooled AI engineers deployed across SME clusters can deploy solutions for hands-on implementation. Second, develop shared industry platforms to co-create plug-and-play AI models for common functionalities, such as quality control and logistics optimisation, to help reduce experimentation costs, especially for SMEs. Third, introduce outcome-linked co-funding tied to measurable productivity, export growth or energy efficiency outcomes. AI infrastructure should be treated like shared physical resources, enabling our SMEs to compete by agility and not by size.
Beyond enterprises, workforce development is also critical. What progress have we made in developing deep AI expertise through programmes, such as TeSA and in strengthening AI literacy across the broader workforce? How can AI widen opportunity for seniors, our fresh graduates and women returning to work? Can we create structured pathways for seniors to use AI tools meaningfully? And with entry level roles disrupted, how are we redesigning jobs and apprenticeship programmes so graduates gain both technical and business context skills?
Finally, as agentic AI systems become more autonomous, how do we ensure ethical and safe deployment?
There are clear areas where AI is ethically beneficial – assisting doctors in diagnostics, for example, or detecting financial fraud or optimising energy consumption or supporting seniors with daily living. But there are also boundaries that must not be crossed, such as autonomous lethal decision-making in defence, manipulative behavioural targeting, opaque credit scoring that entrenches biasness or AI agents making employment decisions without accountability.
The challenge is compounded when agentic systems operate with limited transparency, evolving goals or emergent behaviours that even developers may not fully predict. Who ultimately bears responsibility when harm occurs? The developer, the one who deploys it or the operator? What governance framework, audit requirements or red teaming standards and explainability thresholds will be mandated to ensure trust keeps pace with capability?
Digital for Good
Mr Chairman, as we advance in AI and digital transformation, how do we ensure technology is truly a force for good?
First, how has the Government strengthened digital delivery of essential services, particularly for persons with special needs such as the visual impaired? Are our systems inclusive by design? Second, as our society ages, how can digital and AI solutions better support seniors while easing the burden on sandwiched generation families? Third, how do we ensure children from lower-income families gain access not just to devices but to AI skills and also opportunities? Finally, how do we strengthen trust in our digital space and better protect Singaporeans from scams and online harms?
Technology must not widen divides. It must uplift, protect and empower every Singaporean.
Strengthening Our Cybersecurity Posture
Cyber threats are no longer isolated incidents. They are persistent, adaptive and increasingly AI enabled. As AI systems become more autonomous, we must confront a new class of risks – AI agents that can plan, probe and act independently.
How is MDDI addressing threats where malicious actors deploy AI to automate reconnaissance, craft sophisticated phishing campaigns or exploit vulnerabilities at scale?
3.30 pm
Singapore has experienced breaches before. The 2018 SingHealth cyberattack compromised the data of 1.5 million patients. More recently, it was reported that 255 firms linked to Singapore's critical infrastructures were allegedly targeted and ransomware incidents have disrupted healthcare clusters and third party vendors. Last year, a cyber incident affecting a critical information infrastructure (CII) operator reminded us that our CIIs, from energy to transport, remain a prime target.
Advanced persistent threats (APTs) are patient, well-resourced and may be state linked. They are not looking for disruption alone but strategic leverage. How then are we strengthening our national cybersecurity posture to defend again APTs? Are we investing sufficiently in threat intelligence fusion, real-time monitoring and cross sector incident response?
And on CII, regulations must keep pace with evolving threats. How will the Government enhance cybersecurity requirements for CII operators? Beyond compliance, what tools, shared platforms and AI-driven detection capabilities are being provided to help operators defend against sophisticated attacks?
Equally important, how are we strengthening the security posture, not just of CII owners, but also of their vendors and cybersecurity service providers, given supply chain vulnerabilities?
Finally, cybersecurity is ultimately about people. How are we expanding and deepening our cybersecurity workforce to defend against today's threats? Are we accelerating specialist training, midcareer conversion and advanced AI security integration skills? As AI becomes both a threat factor and a defence tool, how are we supporting organisations to adopt AI-driven cybersecurity solutions responsibly and effectively?
In a world of escalating digital conflict, resilience is not optional. Trust in our digital economy depends on our ability to defend it. We must ensure that as Singapore digitises at scale, our cybersecurity posture strengthens at equal speed.
Cyber Defence
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song (Aljunied) : Sir, on 9 February 2026, the Government revealed that Singapore's major telecommunications operators were targeted last year in a sophisticated cyber espionage campaign by the group UNC3886. Such intrusions are a stark reminder that the digital battle space has expanded into a theatre of strategic sabotage, APT actors, prepositioned malicious code to sit dormant for years, designed to be activated during a crisis to trigger power failures or disrupt transport and payment systems.
For Singapore, this poses a direct threat to our national survival as a coordinated disruption to civilian telecommunications, payment systems and transport networks would directly cripple the Singapore Armed Force's ability to mobilise and deploy troops at speed. While the containment of UNC3886 demonstrates our technical proficiency, we must leverage this capacity to signal clear consequences. The Government must work with international partners to communicate strategic red lines, explicitly stating that the prepositioning of malicious code in our critical infrastructure is an unacceptable provocation. We must leverage our attribution capabilities to call out such actors directly, while carefully weighing the diplomatic sensitivities of naming state-linked groups. We should move toward a posture of active deterrence through precise signalling and the threat of calibrated counter measures. By doing so, while remaining consistent with international law, we can avoid unintended escalation. Ultimately, we must effectively change the cost benefit calculus of any potential aggressor.
Quantum-safe Cryptography Solutions - Why Buck Global Consensus
Mr Kenneth Tiong Boon Kiat (Aljunied) : Sir, Singapore, sits outside global consensus. In January 2024, the cybersecurity agencies of France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden jointly assessed Quantum Key Distribution (QKD). Their conclusion: QKD is not yet sufficiently mature and can only serve niche use cases. They said: "Migration to post quantum cryptography (PQC) has priority over the use of QKD".
PQC first is not just an American position. The PQC algorithms were built by European researchers. The back-up algorithm is entirely French. Eighty-two candidates from 25 countries went through eight years of open cryptanalysis. Germany published PQC migration guidance in 2020, four years before standards were finalised. Australia's deadline to cease classical public key cryptography is in 2030; Japan, 2035; 18 EU states signed a PQC commitment last November. QKD was not mentioned. PQC is software – it deploys on current infrastructure. Apple shipped PQC to 1.3 billion devices with an iOS update. Google enabled it for 3.4 billion Chrome users. Cloudflare has protected 20% of global web traffic since late 2023. No new fibre, no specialised hardware. A software update.
Without PQC, adversaries harvest today and decrypt tomorrow.
Singapore's position is the opposite. We are expanding the National Quantum Safe Network with dedicated QKD fibre, yet have no PQC migration deadline. Only Singapore and China are scaling QKD as national infrastructure rather than treating it as a niche research pilot. Our flagship quantum spin-off sells QKD back to the Government that funded it.
I ask why the balance between QKD and PQC appears opposite to every comparable nation. Many quantum researchers in Singapore are sceptical. They deserve accountability. Will the Minister disclose how the quantum safe budget breaks down between QKD and PQC, and when Singapore will set a PQC migration deadline?
The Chairman : Ms He Ting Ru, you may take your three cuts together.
Indecent AI Content
Ms He Ting Ru (Sengkang) : Sir, the upcoming enactment of Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Bill increases support for victims of indecent online content. The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has been engaging with X over Grok's generation of non consensual intimate images that were distributed en masse on the X platform. IMDA said that X has taken measures to address the issue, including stopping Grok from producing such content. Even as we ensure that the operating environment for tech platforms is not overly restrictive, could the Government explain further the outcomes of its engagement with X? Were any punitive actions taken over the matter? After introducing the spicy mode feature, Grok rose to the top 25 apps in the free Singapore Apple App Store in January this year.
Secondly, I quoted in my intervention during last year's Committee of Supply (COS) that there were reports of students generating deep fake news of their classmates and sharing them in WhatsApp groups. We must thus tackle the real problem. The existing and increasing demand for sexualised images, which is exacerbated by accessibility.
Given that most victims are women and children, the increased accessibility puts further pressure on these groups. We must do much more to educate our youths on the usage of AI, especially if increased exposure to it, and as early as Primary 4. Given concerns about how children handle AI, how do the Ministry of Education (MOE) sexual education approach and AI framework cover the issue explicitly? And how does MOE negotiate students' emotional engagement with AI chatbots?
The relationship between these images and the development of young Singaporeans is especially relevant as platforms work to become more addictive. More concerns beyond our existing legislation may become pertinent, such as content that does not involve specific victims, but nonetheless have societal concerns, such as AI-generated child pornography.
Social Media and Children
Sir, a child doom scrolling past bedtime is not making a choice. They are responding to a system designed to make stopping almost impossible. The current age assurance assessment, the Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Bill and the code of practice for online safety represent a concerted effort to protect children online. Today, I want to ask whether it addresses a distinction not yet resolved. The difference between content harm and design harm.
Singapore already understands this. Regulation of the Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands casinos builds deliberate friction through entry levies, exclusion orders and visit limits. This recognises the need for behavioural design interruption, not just better information about the risks. On social media platforms, infinite scroll, autoplay videos and algorithmic feeds are attention-capture dark patterns designed to maximise engagement by exploiting reward-seeking and eroding self-regulation in children whose brains are still developing.
Last month, the European Commission made a preliminary finding that TikTok's addictive design itself is a legal violation. TikTok is designated under our own code of practice, and the commission found that its screen time tools and parental controls do not effectively address these risks. Silence from Singapore adds a reputational risk. An article in Nature Health last week stated that we must hold platforms accountable for their addictive design. These platforms exploit children's brains and erode children's capacity for self-regulation. The question is therefore whether we should allow platforms to deploy attention-capture dark patterns against children without legal consequences.
Could the Minister thus clarify three things? One, does the code of practice require designated services to submit a design risk assessment, covering recommendation systems, auto play and scroll architecture? And does IMDA have power to act on those assessments independently of content classification? If so, will we commit to a timeline for doing so?
Two, given the findings about TikTok's addictive design, has IMDA reviewed TikTok's compliance report with this in mind?
Three, would the Ministry consider my call last week to use a Select Committee to better examine global efforts to protect children from the harms of social media, especially in the light of momentum building to outrightly ban social media for children? Both children and their parents deserve a framework that holds platforms accountable, not just for what they show, but how they are built. Digital environments do not shape themselves. They are designed. And design, when left unchecked, becomes policy by default.
Lessons from the Albatross Files
Sir, history is not one dimensional. It constantly awaits further completion with access to more information. Knowledge about the past is important in shaping how we think and act in the present in tangible ways. Declassification is critical to this process. More credible and independently verifiable information is crucial when disinformation, misinformation, confusion and uncertainty arrive. Transparency is not just for transparency's sake.
Recent access to the Albatross Files underscores that separation with Malaysia was by mutual agreement. This makes it more possible to go beyond the historical narrative of trauma surrounding being kicked out in Singapore, as we look to advance ties with our closest neighbour.
Elsewhere, opening the Epstein files enabled some of the richest and most powerful people in the world being held to account for wrongdoing, and led to figures like Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and Peter Mandelson to be arrested. Access and accountability are especially important when the concerned persons remain alive, regardless of whether an issue is particularly heinous or more mundane.
Minister Josephine Teo stated that when deciding on access to public archives, state agencies take into consideration, and I quote: "supporting research into our collective past while safeguarding sensitive information and complying with relevant confidentiality and other obligations".
We should add timelines, holding state agencies and political authority to public account and avoiding confusion as well as misrepresentation. We pledge to aspire towards democracy. In a democracy, state action needs to be defensible to the public it serves, and from which it derives funding. Publicly indefensible positions and actions should not be undertaken. Therefore, these decisions must be ready to stand to public scrutiny at any time. Knowledge of this possibility encourages greater prudence and responsibility.
The Chairman : Mr Fadli Fawzi. Please take your two cuts together.
AI and Media Literacy
Mr Fadli Fawzi (Aljunied) : Sir, as Budget 2026 advances Singapore's AI ambitions, we must confront that increasingly Singaporeans are exposed to AI-generated misinformation and AI-powered scams at unprecedented scale and speed. A 5 February article in Lianhe Zaobao documented a surge of sensational videos claiming that Prime Minister Lawrence Wong is being forced out and that intense internal power struggles are unfolding.
These videos are entirely generated using AI within minutes, at a cost reportedly as low as US$1 or US$2 per 20-minute video. MDDI acknowledged that it has observed multiple online accounts publishing such fabricated claims about Singapore's domestic politics. An MDDI spokesman quoted by Zaobao stated that public education measures and resources have been rolled out and urged the public to rely on official sources and refrain from sharing unverified content.
I welcome this response, but I wonder if these measures are sufficient. Given the scale and sophistication of AI-generated misinformation, why was the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) not used against those behind these videos? Enforcement tools like POFMA alone also cannot inoculate society against misinformation. We need a population equipped to question, verify and critically assess what they see online.
What structured long-term programmes will the Ministry develop to strengthen media literacy and critical thinking, especially among vulnerable populations such as seniors? Will we expand community-based workshops, school curricula and public campaigns that teach citizens practical verification steps, such as checking original footage, examining sources, and consulting authoritative channels? Can we leverage AI itself to help filter and flag suspicious content at scale?
If AI lowers the cost of deception to $1 per video, then the cost of inaction may be far higher. How will our national AI strategy ensure that Singaporeans are empowered to discern fact from fiction in an increasingly polluted information ecosystem?
Declassification and National History
Sir, the recent declassification of the Albatross file has transformed out understanding of Separation. For decades, the official narrative surrounding Singapore's independence was that we were abruptly and unilaterally expelled from Malaysia by the Federal Government. That story has shaped how generations of Singaporeans understand our nation's founding.
Yet, the Albatross File departs from the prevailing narrative. The documents reveal that after the racial riots in July 1964, confidential talks had already commenced between the PAP and Malaysia's Alliance Party, regarding possible constitutional rearrangements within Malaysia. These discussions eventually led to separation.
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This revelation does not diminish our history, it shows that history is often more complex than we think and enriches our understanding of history. But why did this historically significant recourse take so long to come to light? And how many other important records remain inaccessible?
The recent declassification of the Albatross File illustrates why a Freedom of Information Act and automatic declassification is necessary. The Workers' Party (WP) has long called for a freedom of Information Act, most recently in our General Election 2025 manifesto. This call is grounded in a simple principle – we trust Singaporeans with the information necessary to hold the Government accountable.
Citizens should be empowered under a Freedom of Information Act to make requests for, and given access to, information from public agencies at the level of detail that is requested. Any data or records held by the Government that could inform public debate should also be automatically declassified and made available to the public after 25 years, subject of course to legitimate national security concerns.
Without a Freedom of Information Act and a framework for automatically declassifying record after 25 years, the Government would not be compelled to review and release information, and foundational truth risks remaining buried, indefinitely.
Facts and declassified documents can be cherry-picked to support a curated narrative. This is not what we want for Singapore. A Freedom of Information Act and automatic declassification would shift the burden of proof from citizens to the Government. The Government must justify why secrecy is needed, instead of citizens justifying curiosity. This empowers historians, journalists, civil society and ordinary Singaporeans to scrutinise decisions made in their name.
A mature nation does not fear its own archives. I believe that what the WP has proposed would strengthen our national identity rather than weaken it. We build a genuine national identity when it is grounded in facts, even when these facts are complex or uncomfortable. If we truly believe in accountable governance and informed citizenry, then it is time to enshrine the public's right to know, in law.
The Chairman : Mr Christopher de Souza, please take your two cuts together.
Immense Value in Historical Exhibitions
Mr Christopher de Souza (Holland-Bukit Timah) : A core responsibility of MDDI is shaping the historical narratives for Singaporeans and ensuring that our national historical touchstones are accurate, principled and grounded. In this regard, I wish to place on record my strong support for the recent exhibition on the Albatross File and the team of officers behind it. They should be commended.
The exhibition does excellent work in bringing into sharp focus the circumstances of independent Singapore's birth, the pressures of the time – 1963 to 1965 – and the difficult trade-offs faced by our leaders.
Understanding this history is not an academic exercise. The exhibition functions like a compass. It shows how decisions were made firmly on principle, but tempered by deep pragmatism. Faced with existential uncertainty, our Pioneers dug in, made hard choices and built a nation against the odds. These decisions made in the crucible of crises, shaped the DNA of independent Singapore.
There is scope for similar exhibitions. For example, on COVID-19. The pandemic was, after all, a recent and defining moment in Singapore's post-independent history. Those late-night decisions, vaccine procurement choices, protecting lives and livelihoods, and the multiple debates we had in this House, between 2020 and 2022, and resuscitating Singapore Airlines. It was a crisis of a generation and we prevailed together.
Decisions made in past crises shaped the DNA of a nation, and provide the ballast and compass for Singapore's future. The decision-making process should be displayed. Lessons learned from them in more exhibitions, such as that on the COVID-19 crisis.
AI - Discernment while Innovating
Sir, AI presents clear advantages. It can consume and summarise vast bodies of knowledge, but ultimately, AI is a tool. It cannot be allowed to be the master. It does not moralise.
Thus, as we embrace AI, we must do so with discernment. We should use it to the extent that it facilitates decision-making, but it cannot be allowed to usurp our decision-making.
Innovation cannot come at the expense of trespassing on some existing IP rights. And here, Sir, allow me to declare that I am a partner in a private law firm, practising IP law and advising on AI law.
Guardrails matter. In my view, there must be clear out-of-bound markers, no deepfakes, no deepfake pornography, no scams, no deception, no misrepresentation and no trespass on certain protected IP. If Singapore can be an engine for AI adoption while retaining its status as a trusted IP hub, we would have struck the right balance.
In short, to discerningly balance AI's benefits without atrophying the human mind, we must ensure that AI remains the tool, not the master.
Redesign Entry-level Jobs in Age of AI
Mr Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik (Sengkang) : Mr Chairman, the Government has committed a large amount of money to support industries in their AI transformation. In this context, I am concerned about how today's fresh graduates are already being impacted, and the long-term compounding implications this has on our national talent pipeline.
In a survey of 250 local employers, 80% acknowledged that AI has already reduced their entry-level hiring. As Members from both sides of the House have spoken about this problem, I will not belabour the point further.
Today, I would like to provide a proposal which I hope the Government will consider. From the Enterprise Innovation Scheme to the Productivity Solutions Grant, in exchange for the Government's support, stronger guardrails need to be established to prevent this support from accelerating the displacement of entry-level ones. Broadly, I suggest two conditions to be added for all AI-related roles and subsidy schemes.
First, at the minimum, companies should be required to submit a structured declaration detailing how their AI transformation efforts are expected to impact HR decisions, particularly for entry-level roles. How many such roles will be eliminated or redesigned, and what career development support will be made available to affected employees? This declaration will serve two purposes – to prompt companies to consider shaping their transformation efforts to protect their own talent pipeline and provide the Government with important insights on how entry-level roles may be impacted qualitatively and quantitatively across industries.
Second, companies should be required to commit to a sustained level of entry-level roles and ensure structured development opportunities for entry level highest. To keep compliance manageable for SMEs, this second condition could be made mandatory only for companies above a particular threshold.
To operationalise this, the National AI Council could coordinate with relevant agencies and consult the industry. For example, MDDI could take the lead in verifying companies' compliance with the conditions. In turn, only companies who receive this verification may submit Enterprise Innovation Scheme claims related to AI expenditures.
Sir, I believe my suggestions are practicable and necessary to ensure that publicly-funded support for AI transformation does not come at the cost of our national talent pipeline in the long term. Similarly, conditions are already in place for some subsidy schemes. The Productivity Solutions Grant already requires companies to submit a description of the overall impact of their proposed solution and specify the expected productivity gains before the grant application is reviewed and approved.
To conclude, the entry level jobs of today shape the industry leaders of tomorrow. Let us ensure that our AI transformation amplifies, rather than erodes the career opportunities that our young graduates have worked hard to earn.
De-risking AI and Automation
Mr Mark Lee (Nominated Member) : Chairman, Budget 2026 rightly places AI and automation at the centre of enterprise transformation. But if we want broad-based adoption, clarity and commercial realism matter as much as funding.
Many SMEs are not short of ambition, they are short of certainty. Uncertainty about what qualifies as AI or automation expenditure; how bundled digital costs are treated; how robotics hardware and software layers are classified; and what documentation withstands audit scrutiny?
When definitions are ambiguous, firms hesitate. In a tight cashflow environment, hesitation becomes inaction. Would MDDI work with MTI and other agencies to ensure that "AI and automation expenditure" is defined clearly in operational terms?
Without clarity, we risk two outcomes. First, AI-washing. Spending labelled as AI without measurable productivity impact. Second, under-adoption, with firms delaying genuine transformation due to compliance risk. Both weaken credibility.
Clarity alone, however, will not shift behaviour. For SMEs, the issue is risk asymmetry. Integration, deployment, robotics installation and workflow redesign costs are immediate. Productivity gains are gradual and uncertain.
If we want transformation beyond leading enterprises, the model must be simple – de-risk early, reward outcomes strongly. Would the Government consider strengthening upfront support to meaningfully reduce early-stage exposure, and then introduce performance-linked incentives where firms that demonstrate sustained productivity gains receive enhanced support, potentially up to 80% to 90% of qualifying transformation costs?
This would not subsidise spending. It would subsidise results – measurable improvements in output per worker, value-add per employee or cost efficiencies. Such a model aligns public spending with real productivity gains and gives SMEs the confidence to commit.
We must also be careful about how we frame AI nationally. Public discourse often centres on GenAI and digital tools. But in labour-intensive sectors – logistics, F&B, facilities management, manufacturing – robotics and advanced automation may deliver more immediate productivity gains. MDDI plays a critical role in shaping that narrative. Transformation is not just dashboards and chatbots. It is robotics, process redesign and job redesign.
Finally, coordination matters. AI-related schemes span multiple agencies. From an SME's perspective, the landscape can feel fragmented. Would MDDI consider strengthening a unified communication architecture, so enterprises see one coherent transformation pathway, rather than through multiple agencies?
In a structurally tight labour market, productivity is existential. Transformation must therefore be: clear in definition; coherent in communication; and commercially rational in incentive design. If we get this right – de-risk early and reward real outcomes decisively – we can achieve economy-wide transformation, not isolated pilot processes.
AI Opportunities for Growth
Dr Choo Pei Ling (Chua Chu Kang) : Mr Chairman, in my work with stroke survivors, we use brain imaging and machine learning to understand how the brain reorganises after injury. A single scan can produce thousands of images. Algorithms help us detect patterns we would otherwise miss. But no responsible scientist relies on a model blindly. We validate it rigorously, test for bias and examine when it breaks, because a wrong conclusion does not stay in a journal. It affects a person.
As Singapore accelerates our AI ambitions, we should bring that same discipline to national deployment. Budget 2026 sets a clear direction: a National AI Council chaired by the Prime Minister and national AI Missions to drive real outcomes across advanced manufacturing, connectivity, finance and healthcare. This is the right posture: AI – not as a buzzword, but as an economic strategy.
To make AI translate into growth that Singaporeans can feel, three disciplines matter.
First, value capture, not just adoption. Budget measures, such as expanding the Enterprise Innovation Scheme to support qualifying AI expenditures can spur uptake. But uptake is not impact. The jump from "trying tools" to "redesigning work" is where productivity is won. We should help firms, especially SMEs, cross that gap with mission-linked sector playbooks, reference workflows and practical benchmarks. AI must generate enterprise value, not just technological activity.
Second, trust architecture as a competitive advantage. In a fragmented world, Singapore's brand is that we are a place where serious systems run reliably. As AI systems move from assisting decisions to shaping outcomes, assurance cannot be informal. For high-impact deployments, institutionalising testing, explainability where needed and independent review where appropriate will strengthen confidence without stifling innovation. Trust is not a by-product of innovation. It is an asset we build deliberately.
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Third, bilingual talent at scale. We will need more than AI engineers. We will need people fluent in both domain and data, professionals who understand context, model limits and risk. The future workforce must be fluent in both code and context. If we build value, trust, and bilingual talent, Singapore will not merely adopt AI. We will shape how it is deployed and ensure that our growth is resilient and inclusive. I welcome the Minister's reflections on how MDDI will drive these disciplines through the National AI Council and the AI Missions.
The Chairman : Ms Cassandra Lee, please take your two cuts together.
AI-ready SMEs for Young Professionals
Ms Cassandra Lee (West Coast-Jurong West) : Mr Chairman, this AI transformation must be managed carefully because it brings anxiety to many.
From my conversations with youths, two concerns have been repeatedly raised. First, displacement by AI. Second, right-sized AI adoption.
On displacement, young professionals and youths preparing for their first jobs are concerned that their jobs will be displaced by AI. Youths I have spoken to have shared that they are worried that they cannot keep up with the pace at which AI is evolving. And as AI make some tasks redundant, their jobs may also be made redundant.
This applies to both youths looking to enter the workforce and those already in the workforce. Despite being digital natives, professionals and even technology professionals, they are nervous that it would be difficult to get ahead of the AI curve.
Many of those in the workforce are willing to upskill but they are time-poor. They need flexibility in training, employer support and buy-in and clear outcomes from each course that they take. Employers, in turn, ask for confidence and assurance that training translates into productivity.
So, the question is not what to train, but how to make training work in practice. What are the Ministry's plans to equip the workforce with the relevant confidence and skills needed to leverage AI in their respective domain expertise? What are the Ministry's plans to ensure that workforce training can be closely tied to improved productivity and business outcomes? What are the Ministry's plans to encourage greater employer buy-in and support to facilitate employee training? I support the Government's plans to explore how it can broaden the TeSA programme to help all young Singaporean workers continue to stay relevant.
On right-sizing AI adoption, AI adoption will not be one-size-fits-all. Different firms in different sectors face different constraints. This is especially true for our SMEs. As we all know, SMEs employ the majority of our workforce, with nearly half in small and micro enterprises. We cannot afford to leave them behind. But many SMEs face real constraints: cashflow, uncertainty of returns, manpower and implementation capacity.
So, support must be right-sized and practical. Not just funding, but end-to-end support to help enterprises adopt, integrate, scale AI in their core processes, redesign legacy systems and tailor solutions to different business needs. These uneven application of AI adoption heighten uncertainty amongst youths as to job security and progression.
In particular, I ask: how will the Ministry reduce uncertainty for SMEs adopting AI? For example, will the Ministry facilitate the provision of shared solutions or proven use cases jointly developed with trade associations and Institutes of Higher Learning?
The newly announced Champions of AI programme will go some way to support the integration of AI into business processes. How will the Champions of AI programme sit alongside schemes like the Enterprise Innovation Scheme and the Productivity Solutions Grant, given that they are administered by different statutory boards under different Ministries?
Renewed Possibilities for Libraries
I understand that MDDI is looking at supporting our libraries with renewed possibilities. I would like to request that the Ministry look at renewing our libraries with family at the top of its mind. Sir, I noticed I have run out of time.
The Chairman : Thank you. Mr Henry Kwek, you can take your two cuts together.
Spurring AI-centric IT Development
Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry (Kebun Baru) : Mr Chairman, AI-centric IT development is no longer theoretical. In Silicon Valley, leading AI firms and hyperscalers have moved beyond traditional software development. Frameworks now include intention-based engineering, vibe coding and agentic development. More top programmers are publicly saying they no longer code traditionally. AI-centric development is fundamentally different. It has integral to design, coding, testing and continuous improvement.
Singapore's IT services firms are the delivery layer between our national AI strategy and real-world outcomes. The bottleneck is not talent. Our tech workers are ready. It could be structural inertia within IT services firms and if they do not adopt these new paradigms quickly, our ambitions remain on paper.
Can MDDI work with the top AI firms and hyperscalers already based here to transfer such know-hows to our local firms? Should we leverage on these partnerships not just for enterprise development, but also to transform how our IT companies build software?
Can the Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech) also move quickly to embrace these approaches, while adhering to cybersecurity and regulatory requirements, and progressively require IT service companies involved in Government work to do the same? This is not without precedent. We mandated Building Information Modelling adoption in construction procurement, and it transformed that industry.
Finally, how can we ensure our tech workforce and students keep pace? And beyond the tech sector, how can we encourage both our multinational companies (MNCs) and SMEs to embrace AI in their own operations?
Supporting Our National Media
Mr Chairman, our Public Service Media companies – Mediacorp, Zaobao, CNA, Business Times – are not just Singapore's truth infrastructure. They are also our society's trust infrastructure. In an age of AI-generated disinformation, like what some of our Members talked about earlier, they stand between our people and in a manipulated information environment.
Yet, our Public Service Media face significant headwinds, declining circulation in a fragmented media space, a rapidly evolving advertising model and growing disinformation from overseas. Unlike commercial outlets, our Public Service Media also carries nation-building obligations, serving all communities fairly, building social cohesiveness and upholding our national interest. Even reputable international outlets like the Washington Post have to resort to dramatic cuts.
Can MDDI outline its vision for keeping our national media compelling, relevant and thriving? How does it do so to help them stay financially viable, so we can forestall similar painful restructuring here?
We should not underestimate what we already have. Zaobao is already one of the most respected Chinese-language outlet globally. CNA commands credibility far beyond our shores. And with the strategic investment, The Business Times could become the Financial Times of Southeast Asia. Our Public Service Media a key source of our soft power.
Our media must also stay relevant for all Singaporeans, starting with our students. Countries like Australia and the UK have ensured that public service content remains prominent and easily discoverable on connected television platforms. Can we do the same, so that the quality of local content is not buried by algorithms favouring overseas programming?
Our Public Service Media companies are our national assets. I hope MDDI can share how it plans to secure our future. I notice I have 18 more seconds, so I want to add in a final point. I noted we are asking MDDI to do a lot of cybersecurity, national Public Service Media on IT services and AI development. I know that there is limited budget. I know it is not easy task. So, thank you in advance.
The Chairman : Ms Tin Pei Ling, please take your two cuts together.
Trust in a Digital World
Ms Tin Pei Ling (Marine Parade-Braddell Heights) : Chairman, we are an open society, physically and virtually. Information pours in from every direction and discerning truth has never been harder. This problem is now amplified by AI.
Most recently, many of us would have read about the fake reports online claiming that Senior Minister Lee publicly disagreed with Prime Minister Wong. A resident of mine whom I met during a block visit in January believed the story so wholeheartedly that I found it hard to dissuade him. Incidents like this do not merely misinform. They corrode mutual trust, weaken social cohesion and create fertile ground for scams. AI worsens the threat because it can generate convincing content at scale, iterate rapidly and be used to probe and undermine our critical information infrastructure.
Our Public Service Media plays a central role in preserving factual public discourse and remains the go-to source of truth for important issues by our citizens. Therefore, I have a few questions.
First, how will the Government support and strengthen our Public Service Media so it can more effectively in countering fake news and misinformation in an increasingly noisy information environment? This means funding, talent development, editorial independence and technical capability to verify rapidly and at scale.
Second, what concrete steps will be taken to ensure Public Service Media content remains high quality and highly accessible, across languages, platforms and demographics, so that credible information reaches every community before falsehoods do?
Likewise, how will we ensure genuine and verified Singapore narratives reach international audiences, both to protect our reputation from falsehoods and to project our voice on matters of global significance?
Third, will the Government equip our Public Service Media and our public agencies with advanced tools, including responsibly governed AI to detect, attribute and counter disinformation? Put simply, can we use AI to fight AI, with safeguards to avoid overreach, bias or erosion of privacy?
Finally, beyond Public Service Media, what broader investments in public digital literacy, rapid-response verification labs and partnerships with platforms and civil society will the Government make to build societal resilience to AI‑driven misinformation?
In an age when technology amplifies both benefit and risk, we must ensure our public information architecture is robust, trusted and adaptive.
AI Governance and Agency
As Singapore embraces AI as a strategic necessity for our development, we must protect the long‑term interests of our people even as we harness its power. Much of the public conversation today veers toward doom‑laden predictions of AI "taking over" jobs and society. That narrative overlooks something fundamental. We can and must retain human agency. We can choose how AI is designed, governed and deployed.
That choice demands strong national leadership to chart practical governance pathways and sustained international cooperation to agree what ought not to be delegated to machines. Singapore has led with the Model AI Governance Framework of January 2019, a world first, and followed up with work on Generative and Agentic AI. These are important foundations.
But leadership must translate into concrete action. Interoperable standards and certification, robust procurement and audit requirements, independent oversight and investments in public literacy and workforce reskilling so that citizens can exercise meaningful agency. Internationally, we could forge norms that prevent regulatory arbitrage and ensure cross‑border accountability.
Hence, building on existing frameworks, what more will the Government do to strengthen Singapore's role in global AI governance, standards, certification, international coordination and capacity building, to preserve human agency while responsibly constraining AI agency?
The Chairman : Ms Jessica Tan, please take your three cuts together.
Digital Safety and Societal Resilience
Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo (East Coast) : Mr Chairman, Budget 2026 underscores an important priority, keeping Singaporeans safe from scams and online harms. Digital safety today is no longer just about avoiding suspicious links. AI has changed the way scams and online threats work. The tools used to deceive people are more sophisticated, more personal and harder to detect, even for those who are usually confident online.
We now see AI‑generated deepfakes that could sound exactly like a family member or friend with uncanny accuracy. Hyper‑personalised scams tailor messages to a person's habits, vulnerabilities and online behaviour. Misinformation spread faster at a scale that outpace fact‑checking. And these risks fall disproportionately on seniors, youth, lower‑income families, and those who may not have the digital confidence to tell what is real and what is AI-generated.
To keep Singaporeans safe, we now must move from "digital safety" to AI risk resilience, equipping people with practical skills, trusted tools and strong community support.
We can strengthen this in four ways. I would just like to suggest these.
One, introduce a national AI safety curriculum across digital literacy programmes for different age groups and life stages.
Two, the Online Safety Commission (OSC) can incorporate AI-specific risks into its categories of online harms by recognising AI-generated impersonations such as deepfakes and mass production of inauthentic materials to enable victims to seek timely remedies.
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Three, establish a public-private AI anti-scam taskforce to stay ahead of evolving threats and coordinate responses.
Four, leveraging the base of Digital Ambassadors, develop a network of community-based digital safety ambassadors focused on AI risks in senior activity centres, schools and social service settings.
Mr Chairman, digital safety tools are about protecting trust, protecting families and ensuring every Singaporean, regardless of age or background, feels confident and safe in an AI-driven world.
Responsible AI
Mr Chairman, this year's Budget rightly emphasises the importance of responsible AI. Singapore has already built strong foundations – from the Model AI Governance Framework to AI Verify – and sector‑specific guidelines in finance and healthcare. These are real strengths, and they show our commitment to safe and trustworthy innovation.
But as AI becomes part of everyday decisions that affect people's lives, Singaporeans now need more clarity, more consistency and more accountability.
Today, AI is already used in hiring, credit assessment, insurance underwriting and even public sector processes. But the level of transparency varies widely. Many Singaporeans may not even know when AI is involved. Without regular checks, these systems can unintentionally reinforce or amplify bias. Trust does not happen automatically. We must build it deliberately.
At the same time, we know that modern AI, especially frontier models, is complex and often proprietary. While transparency and independent evaluation sound simple, the reality is more challenging. Singapore's existing frameworks recognise this, but the pace of deployment means we need to strengthen our approach in a practical and proportionate way.
Not all AI systems can carry the same level of risk. A chatbot answering Frequently Asked Questions is not the same as an algorithm screening job applicants, assessing creditworthiness or supporting medical decisions. And frontier AI models, the most powerful and unpredictable, pose a different category of risk altogether.
That is why I believe Singapore should move toward targeted requirements for high‑risk or high‑impact AI systems rather than broad, one‑size‑fits‑all. And transparency does not mean revealing source code. It simply means explaining what the system does, what risks it carries and what safeguards are in place. Independent audits should only be required where the potential harm is significant.
These are not radical ideas. They are becoming global norms. The European Union already mandates audits for high‑risk systems. Canada is moving in the same direction. US regulators require audits in finance and healthcare. The United Kingdom (UK) is strengthening evaluation requirements for frontier models. Singapore should stay ahead, but in a way that fits our context and supports innovation.
A risk‑based approach allows us to protect Singaporeans while keeping compliance practical. This ensures we do not overburden SMEs or slow innovation while still giving Singaporeans confidence that AI is being used responsibly.
My recommendation is for the Government to co-develop practical guidance, sandboxes and sector‑specific standards with industry, building on strong foundations we already have. This turns responsible AI into a shared national capability and not just a regulatory obligation.
Enterprise Readiness for AI Adoption
Mr Chairman, Budget 2026 gives Singapore's AI push real momentum. But for many SMEs, key questions remain. Will AI make daily work easier, more productive and more meaningful for our people?
SMEs still face real hurdles. Compute is costly, data is fragmented, governance feels complex and workers worry about job impact. If we do not address these realities, AI will benefit only a few.
The refreshed National AI Strategy sets the direction on trusted AI, but SMEs need practical tools that they can use tomorrow – sector‑specific AI trust roadmaps that spell out common risks and good practices, pre-approved governance templates for data handling, model testing and human-in-the-loop check, simple "green‑lane" guidance so low‑risk use cases can move quickly while higher‑risk ones get the safeguards they need. This is how trusted AI becomes a catalyst, not a compliance burden.
The Champions of AI programme is promising, but AI adoption is about more than tools. It is about preparing data, redesigning workflows and helping workers feel confident. Many SMEs lack this expertise.
Can MDDI share how SMEs can tap these champions for governance support, workflow redesign and to fully leverage national compute and enterprise schemes?
Our workers are central. The workforce transformation roadmaps must go beyond broad skills. Workers need role‑specific skill maps to show how tasks will change with AI, clear pathways to move from today's roles to tomorrow's AI‑enabled, and hands‑on training tied to tools that SMEs are actually adopting. When workers see how AI makes work easier and raises productivity, adoption becomes natural.
I welcome the Budget's investment in local AI developers and testbeds and the role of Government procurement in helping them scale. And as AI becomes more embedded in operations, the new Cyber Resilience Centre and enhanced SME support will give businesses the confidence to adopt AI safely.
Mr Chairman, when we combine practical support, clear AI trust guidance, empowered workers, strong cybersecurity and a vibrant local ecosystem, AI becomes a real productivity tool and boost for our enterprises – and a real competitive advantage for Singapore.
The Chairman : Minister Josephine Teo.
The Minister for Digital Development and Information (Mrs Josephine Teo) : Mr Chairman, I thank Members for their cuts. Let me start my response in Mandarin, please.
( In Mandarin ) : [ Please refer to Vernacular Speech .] Mr Chairman, in the blink of an eye, tomorrow will be Chap Goh Meh . Before Chinese New Year, I asked my mother if she wanted me to accompany her to buy new clothes, but the 83-year-old said, "No need! I have already found the clothes I like online and placed an order."
I was afraid that she might be scammed, so I asked her how she knew that the seller was reliable. She confidently replied, "I will only pay after I receive the goods and am satisfied with them."
On the day of our reunion dinner, she excitedly showed me her new clothes, and only then did I feel reassured.
Mr Chairman, digital technology has brought a lot of conveniences to our lives and created new opportunities for our businesses. However, it has also exposed us to unprecedented risks and dangers. Similarly, AI has both benefits and drawbacks. Several Members have also mentioned this.
Some Singaporeans worry that they cannot keep up with the pace of this AI era. I have also felt the same way before. However, as the Prime Minister said, we cannot stand still out of fear of AI.
As the saying goes, "Like a boat going against the current, you must move forward; otherwise, you will fall behind."
Other countries have developed their AI initiatives. If we do not act fast enough, plan broadly enough, or establish our foundations deeply enough, we will inevitably fall behind. The key is that our goals must be clear, and our measures effective.
In this AI era, how can we ensure that Singaporeans are not left behind and help SMEs maintain their competitive advantage? This is a core issue that we are closely monitoring.
Just like my mother – she is not a digital expert, but with appropriate help, she too can shop online safely.
We do not need to force ourselves to become AI masters, because not everyone can master AI to the same degree; the ways in which they benefit from it will also differ. More importantly, Singapore must remain confident so that we can move steadily ahead in this AI era.
In this year's COS debate, MDDI will propose various initiatives in this direction and ensure that Singaporeans can not only keep up but also benefit.
( In English ): Mr Chairman, AI has taken centre stage at this year's Budget and COS debates. Members have shared optimism about opportunities and anxiety over impacts on our jobs, creativity and autonomy.
Mr Sharael Taha asked a strategic question about Singapore's unique positioning in AI. We are fortunate that international counterparts recognise our ability to respond holistically across industries, enterprises and the workforce through a range of enablers – from R&D and infrastructure to safety and governance.
On the global stage, Singapore is frequently at the table. Our progressive, thoughtful approach to AI makes us a credible partner and useful reference point. This has made it possible to aim higher.
Prime Minister Wong, Deputy Prime Minister Gan and MTI colleagues outlined plans to grow AI champions and pursue national AI Missions. Later, Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and MOE colleagues will discuss how we empower the present and future workforce to make the most of AI. I will focus on what this means for the broader base of our businesses.
In gist, we want to take full advantage of AI's ability to be democratised, or to put it more simply, for its benefits to spread widely because solutions once too expensive or complex are more accessible.
But if AI follows the same path as previous technology waves, only a small group of companies at the frontier will get ahead and pull away from the pack. The long tail of smaller and often less-resourced businesses take much longer. Yet collectively, they employ most of our workforce. When they fall behind, more than GDP is at risk. At stake are our entrepreneurs' hopes and dreams, workers' livelihoods and their communities' progress.
This is why MDDI is creating the National AI Impact Programme – to turn AI's possibilities into reality for the many, not the few.
Today, 15% of SMEs and about seven in 10 workers use AI in some way. We want to encourage those who have not started to take the first step and help those already using AI move beyond basic applications.
Over the next three years, the National AI Impact Programme aims to support 10,000 local enterprises to integrate AI into their business processes. This will create a sizable pool of early adopters. They can be multipliers in the community, sharing their experiences and knowledge through the intermediaries that Ms Denise Phua asked the Prime Minister about.
Small businesses stand to gain the most. Take Durian Memories for example, a single store seller in Ang Mo Kio. They did not have the luxury of dedicating a team member to handle customer enquiries. Unsurprisingly, they lost sales when hungry durian lovers were not attended to.
But Durian Memories tackled this challenge by implementing an AI-enabled customer relationship management system with a chatbot that automatically answers customer queries. As a result, peak sales went up by 30%.
There are now many AI tools that improve business operations in simple, effective ways. They make up 30% of the digital solutions on IMDA's SMEs Go Digital platform today. We will expand the range of AI-enabled solutions with grant support to meet different business needs. More SMEs can then access these pre-approved, cost-effective and market-proven tools to integrate AI readily and affordably.
Like Mr Pritam Singh and Mr Muhaimin, we want these solutions to be transformative yet human-centred. At the same time, Mr Mark Lee worries about AI washing. We will put safeguards in place for grants and incentives whilst trying at the same time to not make the rules too onerous.
Some enterprises are ready to do more with AI. Take Mocha Chai Laboratories for example. They are a talented team of multimedia creators who improve film visuals and sound. Unknown to most of us, sound effects are still added manually to films, often taking four to eight weeks. After joining IMDA's Digital Leaders Programme and building up their tech capabilities, Mocha Chai created a new GenAI tool that analyses video footage and automatically generates matching sound effects, reducing weeks of work to just a day.
This innovation allowed the company to not only save costs but create a potential new income stream. It has opened up opportunities for both the business and their employees.
We want more success stories like Mocha Chai. But as pointed out by Ms Jessica Tan, Mr Mark Lee and Mr Sharael Taha, more sophisticated uses of AI require multiple factors to succeed. Often, the technology is ready, but people are not. This is why we are enhancing the Digital Leaders Programme and launching a new Digital Leaders Accelerator Bootcamp to build skills and confidence in change management and not just tech capabilities.
We also thank Mr Andre Low, Mr Dennis Tan and Mr Fadli Fawzi as well as Mr Sharael Taha for recognising the need to plan ahead, as the Government has done, to manage the energy impact of widespread AI use.
We do this in several ways. We are judicious in how we expand digital infrastructure. When allocating new data centres, we assess how well they use low-carbon energy sources. We are introducing new sustainability requirements to improve the energy efficiency of older data centres. And through the National AI Research and Development plan, we will support public research in resource-efficient AI to better understand our options.
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As more businesses adopt AI, there is also opportunity to uplift the workforce and help them stay relevant, whether at the entry level or at later stages of their careers. Beyond the Prime Minister's commitments and MOM’s plans, I want to assure Members like Mr Abdul Muhaimin, Ms Cassandra Lee and Dr Choo Pei Ling that MDDI is focused squarely on this.
We know that PMEs and knowledge workers feel the pressure more acutely. But many have found ways to be more effective with AI’s help. Take Geraldine Lau, an audit professional who has been with KPMG for 27 years. For each audit, Geraldine pores through reams of documents to assess risk. With employer-provided training, she created an AI agent that automatically consolidates key information from company announcements for audit reviews.
The AI agent organises information more quickly than Geraldine can, but her domain knowledge is key to ensuring it looks in the right places. With hours of manual work saved, she can now focus on deeper risk assessments and applying her human abilities – wisdom, calibration and professional judgement – to more complex work.
Geraldine and many PMEs are showing that AI know-how, domain expertise and human touch are a powerful combination. Not all of us can be AI engineers. But we can be “bilingual” in AI in our own areas of expertise and to solve problems in our domains.
For a start, the Government will support 100,000 workers to become AI bilingual. They will be pathfinders for meaningful AI upskilling, for others to emulate. Our initial focus will be on professions that are highly exposed to AI and serve multiple industries. IMDA will work with relevant agencies and professional bodies to expand its TeSA programme, to develop AI bilingual workers in key domains. We will start with the accountancy and legal professions, and extend our reach to other fields such as HR.
As Mr Henry Kwek noted, AI is also transforming the tech sector – many people can now write code and build prototypes with the help of AI. We will therefore enhance the TeSA offerings to help tech workers move up the value chain, from writing code, to orchestrating end-to-end systems powered by AI agents.
With AI evolving quickly, our governance must also keep pace. We agree with Ms Jessica Tan and Dr Choo Pei Ling on risk-based, practical AI governance. Like Mr Christopher de Souza, we believe AI should not replace the discerning human mind.
Our new Model Governance Framework for Agentic AI will help organisations manage systems that can act with greater independence, while ensuring human oversight. We are the first government worldwide to introduce such guidelines. For high-risk, high-impact systems like frontier models, we will progressively strengthen safeguards.
However, what we do locally is not enough, a point noted by Ms Tin Pei Ling. The most advanced AI models are developed in only a handful of countries, but their cooperation on AI safety is not deep.
In recent years, Singapore has hosted major AI conferences to promote international cooperation. Last year, we organised the Singapore Conference on AI: International Scientific Exchange on AI Safety. The exchange brought together world-class thinkers across research, government and civil society, resulting in the Singapore Consensus on global AI safety research priorities.
Recently, at the India AI Impact Summit, I shared that Singapore will host the second edition of the International Scientific Exchange to update the Singapore Consensus. Despite the challenges, we will continue contributing meaningfully to the international discourse on AI safety.
Next, on cybersecurity. Members are understandably concerned about whether our critical infrastructure is sufficiently protected against malicious threat actors, especially state-sponsored ones. I would like to reassure Mr Sharael Taha and Mr Gerald Giam that the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) works closely with domestic and international partners to detect and contain cyber threats.
On the diplomatic front, Singapore recently concluded our chairmanship of the Second UN Open-Ended Working Group on security of and in the use of info-comm technologies.
Realistically, state-sponsored threat actors are par for the course. It is nonetheless important to forge international consensus on what constitutes responsible state behaviour in cyberspace. We must, however, not expect these efforts to be a substitute for stronger cyber defense capabilities. In this regard, CSA will focus on three key areas.
First, we will review our cybersecurity standards and requirements for CII owners. Second, we will provide CII owners with advanced tools, so that they are equipped to deal with advanced threats and. Third, we will work with partners to build up capabilities in our cybersecurity workforce. Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How will say more about these efforts.
Another risk we face is the spread of disinformation and misinformation, fueled by technologies like AI. As a diverse society, we are particularly vulnerable to online falsehoods that erode trust in our society and institutions. Fortunately, we have been strengthening our libraries and archives. They help to nurture a discerning population by cultivating reading habits and information literacy. Minister of State Rahayu will share more later.
Our Public Service Media entities too, are important in maintaining trust in our infospace. I thank Mr Henry Kwek and Ms Tin Pei Ling for recognising this. Our Public Service Media entities reach over 90% of Singaporeans. They remain highly trusted by the public, more so than reputable international and online media outlets.
Consequently, our Public Service Media entities have become indispensable in countering misinformation. MDDI will therefore continue working closely with our Public Service Media entities to maintain their reach and strengthen their fact-checking capabilities. For example, CNA will set up a digital verification team. Government agencies have also collaborated with The Straits Times on the AskST series to address misinformation.
Mr Henry Kwek asked about efforts to help Public Service Media remain relevant, discoverable and financially viable as audience attention and advertising shift towards digital platforms.
Besides delivering timely and credible news, our Public Service Media entities produce content that strengthens our sense of identity as one people. They also play a role in cultivating news literacy among our young, through regular student publications and school competitions.
Given the critical role of our Public Service Media, MDDI will support efforts to keep public service media content visible and easily discoverable. We are studying approaches in other countries and will consult the industry to ensure that initiatives are implemented reasonably and effectively. The Government will continue investing in our Public Service Media entities, helping them develop new capabilities as the media landscape evolves.
Sir, to conclude, the investments we make today will determine whether we lead or lag tomorrow. By accelerating AI adoption, strengthening technology governance, and building discernment among our people, we are positioning Singaporeans to seize the opportunities and make progress together.
The Chairman : Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How.
The Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information (Mr Tan Kiat How) : Sir, we have made major moves in the last decade to shore up our cybersecurity such as setting up CSA and introducing the Cybersecurity Act to protect our critical information infrastructure.
But there is no room for complacency. I agree with Mr Vikram Nair’s cut to the Ministry of Home Affairs that threat actors, especially APTs, will only get more sophisticated. Mr Sharael Taha asked about the Government’s plan to protect our CII.
Cybersecurity is a collective effort. CII owners must take responsibility of the systems they own and operate. The Government will also do our part.
At this COS, I will speak about MDDI’s plans to first, update the cybersecurity standards and obligations; second, level up our CII owners; and third, strengthen capabilities in our cybersecurity workforce.
Today, our CII owners are held to higher standards and stringent obligations are imposed on their critical systems or CII systems. This was a calibrated approach to balance national security needs and business costs. We have observed that threat actors are also targeting non-CII systems because they may be less secured and can be entry points into CII systems.
CSA is therefore reviewing the scope of the current cybersecurity standards and obligations, and may include non-CII systems, such as networks that are interconnected with the CII systems. We are mindful not to impose unnecessary costs on CII owners, and will continue to take a risk-based, calibrated and pragmatic approach.
Sector Leads may introduce additional sector-specific obligations that are adapted for their sector. For example, IMDA will be enhancing its cybersecurity regulations for the telecommunications operators, given the recent waves of attacks. IMDA intends to provide guidance for areas such as managing virtualisation of infrastructure and credential management.
We expect CII owners to comply with these requirements. CII owners currently engage third parties to conduct audits and regular penetration testings to verify their robustness of their defences. These reports are then submitted to CSA for review.
In addition to relying on such third party reports, CSA wants to ensure that the security controls implemented by CII owners are not only tested and validated during audits but continuously strengthened. One way to do so will be to partner CII owners to do on-site reviews. CSA is currently discussing with the Sector Leads on the implementation plan. We will reach out to the identified CII owners when ready.
Sir, regulations and compliance can only go so far. We need our sectors and our CII owners to do their part to defend their systems, consistently every day.
Over the last year, I have visited the CII sectors, taking time to speak with the sector leads and the key CII owners. We have had closed door, candid discussions. Our Sector Leads and CII owners understand that the threat landscape has evolved and appreciate what is at stake. However, they shared with me that most CII owners are private companies whose business is in the delivery of essential services. They are not specialists in cybersecurity. Yet, they are up against the best-in-class, state-backed cyber threat actors. One of the Chief Information Security Officers told me that it is like he is bringing a knife to a gun fight. I empathise with his point of view.
As I said, cybersecurity is a collective effort. We are on the same team. Therefore, the Government will lean in to help CII owners to strengthen their defences and better respond to incidents.
Typically, national security is the exclusive domain of governments, such as developing cutting-edge technological systems and training skilled operators to deal with various threat scenarios. We have decided to avail some of the Government’s expertise to the private sector, to level the playing field between the defenders and the attackers. We will help our CII owners “level up” and hold their own in a fight against APTs.
First is intel. We will selectively share classified threat intelligence with our CII owners so that they are better able to spot and respond swiftly to threats that are attacking their systems.
Second is tools. We will equip CII owners with proprietary threat detection systems to strengthen their abilities to detect malicious activities in their networks, especially those of state-sponsored APTs. These proprietary tools complement commercial threat detection systems used by our CII owners today. We have started deploying these tools in selected CII owners and will progressively deploy them across the rest. CII owners may need to incur cost to integrate these tools into their systems. We will consider funding support, if needed.
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Even with these measures in place, we must be prepared that some threats will go undetected. This is why defenders must remain vigilant and constantly enhance their capabilities.
This brings me to my next point on innovation. Threat actors are also not standing still. As pointed out by Mr Sharael Taha, autonomous AI agents are emerging threats. We must similarly harness technology to defend our critical systems. CSA will partner with CII owners to test the use of technologies, such as AI, to help enhance their efficiency and effectiveness of their cybersecurity operations. We will share more details in due course.
The defenders will also need to be competent in using these tools effectively. Therefore, CSA will work with training providers to design and curate courses that equip cybersecurity professionals with specialised knowledge and skills on how to deal with APT threats.
The responsibility of securing our CII systems cannot just rest on the shoulders of our frontline cyber defenders. This is not just a technical matter. The Board and management of CII owners must also do their part. It is a leadership responsibility. We will equip them with the relevant knowledge.
Since 2021, CSA has partnered the Singapore Management University to conduct the Cybersecurity Strategic Leadership Programme for C-suite leaders. The programme has trained 74 senior leaders thus far, such as Ms Dewi Anggraini from SMRT, Mr Andre Shori from Schneider Electric and Mr Kang Seng Wei from DBS. In view of the participants' positive feedback, CSA will conduct more runs of the Leadership Programme over the next few years. We intend to welcome the next batch of cybersecurity leaders by the second half of this year.
Let me now turn to how we are protecting our citizens. Just last year, Members may have seen articles stating that attackers gained unauthorised access to thousands of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, including routers, around the world. Singapore has not been spared. Last year, attackers infected over 2,700 devices, such as baby monitors and routers. When such personal devices are hacked, citizens' privacy can be compromised and their daily activities being disrupted. These devices can also be used unknowingly to launch attacks against others.
The Government will do more to protect our citizens against these malicious actors. First, we will do more to ensure that the digital products that are sold in Singapore have baseline security safeguards in place. This will make these products harder to be compromised.
Today, we require home routers to meet minimum cybersecurity requirements. This is because they are the gateways to networks and transmit sensitive information. They are currently required to meet Cyber Labelling Scheme, or CLS Level 1. CLS is like the energy efficiency tick label you see on household appliances, but instead of showing energy use, it tells you how cybersecure the device is.
CLS ranges from Level 1 to Level 4, with Level 1 being the most basic standard. We have seen threat actors using more advanced techniques to exploit home routers. CSA and IMDA therefore intend to raise the minimum cybersecurity requirements for all routers sold in Singapore to the equivalent of CLS Level 2.
Besides routers, IP cameras are another common target for cyber threat actors. Threat actors exploit these cameras to spy on individuals. Exploited images are even uploaded onto pornographic websites or used to blackmail individuals. To better protect citizens, CSA will explore requiring IP cameras to meet CLS Level 2, similar to home routers.
CSA will continue to monitor and review if more digital devices should be required to meet minimum cybersecurity standards.
Second, for organisations which handle sensitive data, including personally identifiable information, we are considering to introduce more stringent cybersecurity and data protection obligations. The Government will take the lead in this. GovTech will require Government vendors that manage critical systems and sensitive government data to meet Cyber Trust Mark requirements.
CSA will also require the following three groups of entities who are operating, assessing or handling sensitive systems and data to meet Cyber Trust Mark Requirements. These are the CII owners, auditors conducting cybersecurity audits on CII systems and CSA's licensed Cybersecurity Service Providers providing penetration testing and managed security operations centre services.
Consultations with relevant stakeholders are ongoing and these measures will be implemented progressively over the next two years.
We are also looking ahead to prepare for tomorrow's threats. Mr Kenneth Tiong sought to clarify Singapore's approach to quantum-safe migration. We have been monitoring this technological trend closely. We also take the position that PQC will be the mainstream solution for quantum-safe migration. It is widely tested and internationally accepted. Singapore will take reference from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standard as the baseline. As Mr Tiong pointed out, this is the position taken by many other countries.
QKD is a complementary technology. It is more for niche application, like securing high assurance communications. Singapore takes a risk-oriented approach when it comes to quantum-safe migration. The Government is reviewing the practical steps we can take for quantum-safe migration, including adoption of PQC and the appropriate role of QKD, if needed.
We have started investing in capabilities to support businesses in quantum-safe migration. In October 2025, CSA released a Quantum-Safe Handbook and Quantum Readiness Index to raise awareness of the associated risks. We are working with industry experts to better support organisations in their efforts, including through training. We are also deploying two quantum-safe networks nationwide through the National Quantum Safe Network Plus (NQSN+) initiative. This provides additional options for businesses to integrate quantum-safe solutions, such as PQC and QKD, into their networks and systems.
By supporting the provision of NQSN+ infrastructure and services, we aim to reduce the technical and financial barriers for organisations looking to implement quantum-safe solutions. Quantum-related technology is an evolving field. We are closely monitoring developments and will release guidance on this in due course.
We are prepared to adopt different technological solutions if they prove to be effective and able to meet our needs.
Sir, our digital infrastructure underpins our economy and daily life of citizens. MDDI is committed to improve the resilience and security of our digital infrastructure.
The Chairman : Minister of State Jasmin Lau.
The Minister of State for Digital Development and Information (Ms Jasmin Lau) : Mr Chairman, in today's world, many businesses provide seamless, effective and reliable digital services. Singaporeans expect the same from the Government.
While we have made good progress, we can do better. We must acknowledge that citizens still encounter services that are slower than they should be, forms that ask for information we already have or systems that do not speak easily to one another. My speech is about what must change.
Let me borrow an analogy from a familiar childhood toy – LEGO sets. There are a few things that we can learn from LEGO sets.
First, they are based on a strong understanding of their customers and how preferences change over time. Children grow. Attention spans evolve. LEGO designs have adapted accordingly.
Second, modularity. Every brick is designed to connect seamlessly with one another. Builders do not need to reinvent the basic structure each time. They reuse, recombine and build upwards.
Third, customers can choose how simple or complex a model to build. For some, a simple LEGO DUPLO or LEGO City set is sufficient. And for others who want complexity, LEGO Technic or LEGO Education SPIKE sets offer advanced mechanical components. These are optional but easily added on.
The analogy may sound simple, but the engineering discipline behind it is not. What do these lessons look like for us, in the Public Service?
We must understand our citizens continuously, not episodically. Singaporeans' expectations evolve. Their life journeys change. A service that felt intuitive ten years ago may feel slow or fragmented today. We must design modular systems and digital components that work across agencies. When systems connect seamlessly, citizens experience Government as a whole. And we must be able to provide services that meet complex needs. Our advanced shared tools, such as AI platforms and coding assistants, support us in building specialised components at scale. Not every problem has complex needs. But when complexity is needed, the capability must already be there. Secure, integrated and ready.
To do all of this well, some of our habits must change. Sometimes, digital transformation becomes a collection of projects. New apps and new pilots. Transformation is not about the number of digital projects launched. It is whether citizens find it simpler, faster and clearer to deal with the Government.
This requires discipline in problem definition. It also requires discipline in experimentation. In the Public Service, caution is natural. But doing nothing, while expectations move ahead of us, is a risk. We must learn to manage that risk, not eliminate experimentation.
Through initiatives, like Open Government Products' (OGP's) Hack for Public Good, our officers work closely with users to understand and address real pain points. A team observed that medical social workers spent long hours writing case notes after emotionally difficult conversations. Their first instinct was to build an automated transcription and summary tool. But the tool did not fully address the users' needs. Our social workers wanted greater control over how case notes were structured, so that important information can be retrieved easily. When the generated notes were not organised clearly, they rewrote them.
The team refined the tool into Scribe, an AI-powered tool that transcribes conversations and generates summaries according to the topics and writing style chosen by the user. Scribe is now used in over 100 social service agencies and all public healthcare institutions. On average, 36 minutes are saved on documentation per conversation. That time is not just a data point. It is time returned to care.
If LEGO connectors were redesigned every year, no one could build anything coherent. In Government, incompatible systems have the same effect. Previously, agencies often built separate systems for different needs, believing that every need was unique. While well-intentioned, this led to duplication and integration challenges. Citizens feel the fragmentation when information cannot be shared across systems.
So, our approach must be modular. We must provide and use common digital components, like secure logins and payment processing, built on shared standards for security and resilience. Agencies should not rebuild what already exists. They should reuse, recombine and focus on what makes their missions unique.
When the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) stepped up vaping enforcement last year, they needed a new system for their operations. HSA built on shared tools from GovTech and OGP, such as Ownself Gather, a case management system, and Plumber, which allows officers to automate manual tasks, like tracking repeat offences. By doing this, their enhanced Vaping Information System was live in just three weeks. A system built from scratch, would have taken months.
When we build faster, we enforce faster and citizens are better protected.
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Some services need simple, reliable components and we must resist the temptation to over-engineer. But sometimes, we do need advanced tools that can help us build better services and do so more quickly.
Mr Henry Kwek asked how GovTech is embracing AI-centric IT development and encouraging its vendors to adopt such practices. We are providing common tools, such as commercial AI coding assistants that support Government developers and vendors with tasks like code completion. We also have AI tools for GovTech officers to build and deploy functional prototypes without writing code. For both the Public Service and our contracted vendors, these tools are governed by standards for secure development, safe AI use and data protection. GovTech is also piloting agentic AI coding tools internally and plans to expand these capabilities across Government.
Our shared tools also help agencies build more inclusive and user‑centric services. As Mr Sharael Taha highlighted, essential Government services should be accessible by everyone, including persons with disabilities.
One of our most valuable shared tools is called Oobee. It proactively detects accessibility issues on Government websites and suggests fixes, like including descriptive text that can be read aloud by Assistive Technology for our visually impaired users. Oobee has scanned over 1,600 websites since 2023. It has shown us how even with good intentions, we may have blind spots.
The success of our services rests on a strong foundation of trust. Singaporeans use our digital services because they trust that these are secure and that they are dealing with legitimate Government officials. Government official impersonation scams are a serious threat because they attack that trust directly.
Mr Sharael Taha asked about our efforts to protect citizens from scams. We have already taken steps, for example, by unifying SMS messages from Government under the "gov.sg" sender ID. For citizens to easily identify and trust calls from the Government, OGP and IMDA are developing systems for agencies to make calls with numbers that start with a common prefix. Later on, we will display a recognisable caller name.
Many scammers also use local SIM cards for illicit purposes. To address this, IMDA, in consultation with the Singapore Police Force, recently implemented a limit of 10 postpaid SIM cards per person across all telcos. The Government will also apply analytics to SIM card registration data, within strict legal safeguards, to proactively detect and disrupt potential scam activities. These measures focus on identifying suspicious registration patterns.
Think about what it takes to go from building a beginner LEGO set, maybe a simple car, a few dozen pieces, designed for a young child, to a full LEGO Education SPIKE robot. It is not just more bricks. It is a different level of skill, confidence and ambition. The builder must grow with the challenge. Our public officers must grow with the challenge.
Many of our loyal and hardworking public officers have spent years building skills for their work. With the tools around them changing fast, this can feel exciting for some. For others, it feels unsettling, as if the expertise they have worked hard to develop might be overtaken before they can fully use it.
Our job is not just to offer comfort, but to build capability. To give them the confidence to use a new tool and think: I can work with this. I can ask the right questions. And I can tell whether the output is good or not.
We have already started digital training for our Cabinet Ministers and Senior Public Service Leaders, as Minister Chan Chun Sing mentioned earlier. Leaders set the conditions. When they understand the digital landscape, they can guide change confidently and ask their teams the right questions. For our broader Public Service, the goal is to ensure that no public officer feels powerless in a digital world.
MDDI will establish the Institute of Digital Government together with the Civil Service College. The Institute will equip our public officers with Digital, Data, Design and AI skills. We will focus not just on technology but on designing solutions that are citizen-centred and secure.
We also need to address the outdated systems that no longer support our needs. These are systems built early in our digitalisation journey, using technology that was prevalent at the time. Today, these systems are inflexible, expensive and difficult to integrate. They slow down policy change and hinder our ability to share information for seamless services. We have started on this. Rebuilding our systems will take time, but we are committed to this effort, because this is foundational to our digital transformation. Every modernisation effort gives us a chance to rebuild and create faster, connected systems that can better support service delivery.
I have described what we must do, to improve our Government digital services. We must understand our citizens continuously, build in a modular way and develop capabilities for complexity. We will upgrade the skills of our public officers and rebuild many of our outdated systems over time.
If we do this well, our citizens will feel the difference. Their experience with Government will feel simpler, clearer and more human, especially at moments when citizens have little bandwidth to deal with Government.
Take parents of newborns, for example. In those precious early days, what you want most is time with your baby, not multiple forms to fill. We have therefore integrated services around this life moment. Through LifeSG, parents can complete services like birth registration, apply for Baby Bonus and Shared Parental Leave, with far less paperwork. The aim is simple: fewer steps, fewer repeats, more time for families.
With AI, we can go one step further, from services that respond, to services that guide.
Take the SupportGoWhere portal, which consolidates Government schemes across 31 agencies. Imagine trying to look for support from nearly 300 options, across different life stages and needs. Our seniors and their caregivers told us that they felt overwhelmed: too much information, too many pathways. And where do they even begin? So, we redesigned the experience. The Senior Support Recommender will ask them several questions and then uses AI to recommend them the most relevant schemes. We are still refining it, but this is the direction that we want to go: a government that helps citizens find the information that they need, instead of making them hunt for it.
Delivering better services also means that our precious human Public Service officers can focus their time and their resources on supporting those who truly are not able to use technology. They can be served by our officers in a more timely manner.
Better services must also be faster, because delays are not just administrative in nature. They do affect real lives. This matters, in healthcare.
As our population ages, demand for healthcare professionals will rise. Lengthy manual registration processes to bring in nurses can become a bottleneck that delays care. And that is why we are simplifying our processes and rebuilding the Professional Registration System to streamline and automate routine checks for our healthcare professionals. We have reduced processing time for foreign nurse registrations from up to six months to 30 days. For patients and families waiting for care, this can mean earlier treatment, earlier support and less anxiety.
These examples are not exceptions to be admired. They must become more of the norm. All of us working in Government must ask ourselves: if we are responsible for a policy, is it being delivered in the simplest way possible? If we are designing a service, ask: would I accept this experience for my own family?
Our transformation will not happen overnight, but that is the standard that we will hold ourselves to.
Mr Chairman, building digital capability is not just about chasing technology. It is about raising our standard of service. Increasingly, Singaporeans compare us to the best digital experiences in their daily lives, not just to governments elsewhere. That is the standard and it is our responsibility to meet it.
The Chairman : Minister of State Rahayu Mahzam.
The Minister of State for Digital Development and Information (Ms Rahayu Mahzam) : Mr Chairman, while technology has made our lives easier and offers the promise of a better future, we must ensure our digital society remains safe and vibrant.
The Government will continue to play a strong role in protecting those who are most vulnerable to online harms. At the same time, we must also empower citizens to build the skillsets and confidence to navigate and learn in today's digital world, especially with the advent of AI. I will outline MDDI's efforts in these areas.
Let me start with online harms. Many of us have heard stories, or perhaps even know someone who is a victim of online harms. Some victims have experienced online stalking, while others have had their intimate photos abused. Often, victims and their families deal with tremendous distress and helplessness.
This is why the Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Bill, passed in Parliament last November, is so crucial.
As part of the Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Act, we will establish a new agency, the Online Safety Commission (OSC). The OSC will be set up by the first half of this year. It will begin by supporting victims of five highly prevalent and severe online harms: online harassment; intimate image abuse; image-based child abuse; doxxing; and online stalking. Upon assessment of a victim's report, the OSC can issue directions to disable access to harmful online content or restrict the perpetrator's online account.
Even as we set up the OSC to provide an additional avenue of support, I know that many parents are naturally worried about their children's daily digital activities. Children are amongst the most active digital users, and many parents are stretched as they juggle monitoring their children's digital usage with other commitments. In MDDI's Digital Parenting Study in 2025, over half of respondents wanted more Government support, including stronger legislation, to help them manage their children's digital activities.
Ms He Ting Ru asked about efforts to better protect children from the harms and risks associated with social media.
We have taken progressive regulatory measures to address the concerns of parents and the community. Over the past three years, we introduced two Codes of Practice for Online Safety. The Codes require designated social media services and app stores to minimise Singapore users', especially children's exposure to harmful content. The Codes also require designated social media services and designated app stores to submit annual online safety reports to IMDA. IMDA is presently assessing the annual online safety reports submitted by the designates social media services in 2025. IMDA's overall report will be published alongside designated social media services reports when ready.
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Today, we already do age assurance in the physical world, like how supermarkets or convenience stores check the ID of customers before selling age restricted products, such as alcohol or tobacco. From the end of this month, designated app stores will have to implement age assurance measures to prevent users who are under 18 from accessing and downloading age-inappropriate apps.
As new risks continue to emerge, online safety remains a constant challenge around the world. Some overseas jurisdictions have announced or implemented social media bans. Singapore also wants to strengthen protection for our children online and we want to do it right and take a holistic approach.
As MDDI continues to study the impact of social media bans, we plan to extend age assurance requirements to designated social media services. This would better ensure that online services are age-appropriate for users, including children. Consultations with the designated social media services are ongoing, and more details will be announced later this year.
The Government remains vigilant regarding online harms outside of app stores and social media services. Some parents have expressed concerns about harms that online video games bring, including exposure to inappropriate content, cyberbullying and screen addiction. We recognise these concerns and are studying whether safeguards on online video games are needed.
We are also mindful of other types of online services that may pose a threat to online safety. As Ms He Ting Ru pointed out, one example is the misuse of AI to generate indecent content, such as sexual content and violent content, in real time and at scale. Chatbots that are embedded in social media services present unique risks as users, including children, can access them more easily.
Ms He also raised a recent worrying trend of users using prompts on X's chatbot, Grok, to replace the clothes of adults and children with revealing attire, such as bikinis. IMDA is engaging X on the issue. We note that X has taken some measures to address the matter globally. We will continue to monitor the issue closely and will work with X to enhance online safety for Singapore users on its platform. We will not hesitate to take designated social media services to task if they have failed to comply with the SMS code. We are also studying whether safeguards for AI chatbots are needed to better protect users from the harms caused by their misuse.
While parents can look forward to stronger guardrails to protect our children from online harms, parents also play an important role in inculcating healthy digital habits in children. Parenting in the digital age is undoubtedly challenging. We frequently hear stories of children being glued to their devices during family dinners, or parents feeling shut out from their children's digital spaces. Some have even described parenting today as swimming against a relentless digital tide, while struggling to stay afloat amidst competing priorities. These concerns are real, and we want parents to know that they are not alone.
To address these concerns, MDDI has rolled out resources for parents and is strengthening efforts to make them more accessible in the community. Parents can access tips on how to guide their children's digital interactions on IMDA’s Digital for Life portal. These are tailored to different digital milestones in the parenting journey, such as a child's first device use, first social media use and first online game.
Families with young children will also be supported by digital parenting workshops and webinars. These sessions are designed to meet different needs. Some support parents of younger children, while others engage families with youths who may encounter more challenging online situations. We will continue to do more to support digital parenting and welcome suggestions on how we can improve our programmes.
Preparing for the digital world requires us to not only be safe online users, but also purposeful and discerning learners. We need to prepare our students and educators for an AI-enabled future, as Mr Henry Kwek and Ms Lee Hui Ying highlighted. Educators play a critical role in the development of essential skills for our students.
Minister of State Jasmin Lau spoke earlier on enhancing public sector digital capabilities. We are also doing more to grow educators' knowledge and understanding about technology. Last year, MDDI and MOE launched the Smart Nation Educator Fellowship, and 58 fellows attended the inaugural run. I am glad that the feedback has been positive. Many participants shared that the Smart Nation Educator Fellowship has sharpened their abilities to guide students to become thoughtful and responsible users of technology.
Mr Ezal bin Sani, a Lead Teacher for History in Jurong Secondary School, was one of the Smart Nation Educator Fellowship fellows. For a Secondary 1 History inquiry-based project on Singapore's migrant Chinese communities, Ezal’s students conducted AI-powered interviews with historical "coolies" and used ElevenLabs or Google NotebookLM to create their own AI podcasts. Initiatives like this demonstrate how powerful educational technology can be in our classrooms, with students critically assessing the information gleaned from AI tools to enhance their learning process.
This year, we are refining the fellowship to focus on the power and possibilities of AI. Through workshops and industry visits, educators will better appreciate how AI is relevant in the workplace. This can in turn support students' development of AI skills and competencies. We will update programmes in our schools to meet emerging needs, just as we have done before. As the Prime Minister shared, AI literacy is fundamental digital competency that will become even more important going forward.
Mr Sharael Taha and Mr Darryl David asked about the Government's plans to make digital skills and tools available to every child, regardless of background. We will continue to ensure that AI literacy programmes remain accessible in our schools.
IMDA is working with MOE to update the Code for Fun programme in our primary and secondary schools to integrate AI skills as core baseline capabilities for all students. We will make this available to all schools in 2027. Primary school students will learn the basics of AI, such as creating digital storybooks. Secondary school students will learn to use AI to create solutions for real-world problems. As students experiment and learn with AI, they will also learn about the risks, limitations and responsible use.
For lower-income families, IMDA's DigitalAccess@Home scheme will continue to support them with subsidised broadband and computing devices.
I thank Mr Fadli Fawzi, Ms Jessica Tan, and Mr Sharael Taha for their interest in public education initiatives to strengthen citizens' digital literacy and resilience, including for our seniors and persons with disabilities. Today, citizens can look to IMDA's Digital Skills for Life resources to pick up skills to navigate digital spaces. This includes how to use Generative AI confidently and safely, as well as how to identify AI risks, such as misinformation, scams and deepfakes.
Our libraries also provide important touchpoints for digital learning. The National Library Board's (NLB's) S.U.R.E programme, which stands for Source, Understand, Research, Evaluate, encourages Singaporeans to evaluate the credibility and reliability of information. NLB will roll out new resource packages and outreach programmes under SURE to build information literacy skills. NLB will also offer roving experiential showcases across public libraries and other public spaces. Members of the public can experience the uses and benefits of AI, and how to use GenAI safely and responsibly.
We will continue to provide targeted support for vulnerable groups. At SG Digital Community Hubs across Singapore, seniors can learn how to use digital services for daily tasks, such as booking medical appointments and mobile banking. I would like to reassure Ms Sylvia Lim that the Government will continue to adopt a "digital first, but not digital only" approach. Citizens, particularly seniors, who need in-person support will still be able to receive assistance at Government agencies' physical service touchpoints and at ServiceSG Centres.
We will also continue to collaborate with Digital for Life partners to help persons with disabilities participate meaningfully in our digital world. For instance, Guide Dogs Singapore developed a toolkit to help members of the visually impaired community learn to use low vision accessibility features on the smartphone, such as the VoiceOver function.
Through these efforts, we are building an inclusive Singapore where every citizen can benefit from our digital future. Sir, allow me to say a few words in Malay.
( In Malay ) : [ Please refer to Vernacular Speech .] Mr Chairman, mastering new skills can feel daunting sometimes, but the learning experience becomes more rewarding with support from our peers and the community. Digital technologies, including AI, have become important ingredients in our daily lives and for the jobs of tomorrow. Thus, it is important that all of us are equipped to not only have digital skills, but to use them confidently and thoughtfully. Everyone is at a different stage of their digital journey. Some are just starting to explore and experiment, while others are focused on enhancing their technical skills and putting them into practice.
To work towards making our vision of an AI-Confident Malay/Muslim community a reality, M³ has launched Langkah Digital, led by Yayasan MENDAKI. As I announced last month, Langkah Digital is designed around three key elements – Kenal, Guna, Yakin. Kenal (Knowing) helps people learn more about safe digital exploration; Guna (Use) encourages integrating technology in daily life; and Yakin (Confident) nurtures lifelong digital learning so that the community can continue to adapt independently. This step-by-step approach allows us to engage different segments of our community and provide support that matches the level of their digital journey.
Staying true to our "gotong-royong" spirit, MENDAKI will bring together the whole community, including the M³ family, Malay/Muslim organisations, the MENDAKI Professional Networks, as well as partners from the public and private sectors. A good example is Mr Luqman-nul Hakim, who works as an AI engineer and has stepped forward to support Langkah Digital.
Luqman has led sessions on AI at Al Khair Mosque for over 30 participants and facilitated an AI workshop for more than 60 participants. These programmes help cater to individuals with different abilities and interests in our community. Some introduce AI tools such as ChatGPT, while others focus on more advanced skills such as prompt engineering.
Digital champions, such as Luqman are the driving force behind Langkah Digital. They not only help to bring different groups together but also foster meaningful dialogue and collaboration around technology.
Although I just launched the programme last month, I am heartened that we have rolled out 12 AI-related workshops and events in the community so far, reaching over 400 participants. I hope that Langkah Digital will empower even more members in our community.
( In English ): Mr Chairman, as technology keeps evolving, it is not enough for us to hone our technical skills. To harness AI wisely, we need to ask the right questions and be discerning about the answers we get. Therefore, our children need to develop capabilities to read and process information effectively from young.
I am spotlighting reading because it is a skill that is increasingly at risk in a world where information is delivered at break-neck speeds, often in short-form and visual formats. Reading is essential for learning new skills. It improves our attention span, develops critical thinking skills, and builds creativity and empathy. All these are essential qualities for us to use technology for the benefit of ourselves and others. Promoting reading is therefore important in addressing the concerns raised by Members about social and intellectual degradation that might come with AI.
Ms Cassandra Lee asked how NLB is refreshing the libraries' role with families in mind. We can start with encouraging parents to cultivate good reading habits in their children from a young age. This also provides our children with a screen-free alternative in our device-heavy era.
This is why NLB will continue to partner with MOE to strengthen the library programme for schools. This includes an upcoming School Librarians of the Future Summit and webinars to empower student librarians as reading advocates and champions for information literacy. Student librarians can also broaden their learning, through volunteering, student attachments and learning journeys. NLB will do more to foster strong reading habits and plans will be shared in due course.
Our libraries also play a vital role in preserving and sharing our Singapore Stories. These stories form the bedrock of our community and ensure that our collective experiences are not lost to time.
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To mark Singapore's 60 years of Independence, NLB and MDDI launched a book and exhibition on The Albatross File, which documents the events, personalities and debates surrounding Singapore's journey to Independence. I thank Mr Christopher de Souza for commending the teams involved. The exhibition has resonated strongly with the public. Since December, over 130,000 have visited; 96% said they left with a deeper understanding of the path Singapore took.
To Mr Fadli Fawzi's observation that the exhibition departs from what he was taught in school, there has always been differing points of view on Singapore's separation from Malaysia. This is unsurprising, given the nature of historical accounts.
For example, British, Australian and New Zealand archives released from the early 1990s reflected the perspectives of their diplomats and governments. In 1998, full versions of the perspectives of Singapore's officials appeared. Prof Albert Lau's "A Moment of Anguish" remains the most definitive account of the separation. The first volume of founding Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew's memoir also featured a gripping account.
As stated in the editorial notes of The Albatross File: Inside Separation, nothing material to the understanding of the separation was held back. The documents published were reproduced in full, without redaction. Members of the public, including Members of Parliament, can approach the National Archives of Singapore to look at all this declassified material and form their own nuanced views.
Mr Fadli also raised the proposal for a Freedom of Information Act to automatically declassify records and release them publicly after 25 years.
The experience of some countries with similar legislation shows that most, if not all, will still have carve-outs. In fact, implementing an Freedom of Information Act could lead unintentionally to more opacity. Mr Tony Blair's 2010 memoirs record his views on the UK's Freedom of Information Act, which was enacted while he was Prime Minister. He said, after leaving office, that "The Freedom of Information Act…is a dangerous Act [because] governments need to be able to debate, discuss and decide issues in confidence. Without the confidentiality, people are inhibited and the consideration of options is limited in a way that isn't conducive to good decision making. In every system that goes down this path, what happens is that people watch what they put in writing and talk without committing to paper. It's a thoroughly bad way of analysing complex issues."
In other words, a Freedom of Information Act can hinder rather than facilitate governance because issues deemed too sensitive are simply not documented. Therefore, our starting point should be prioritising transparency that leads to good governance and an informed citizenry instead of transparency for its own sake.
We already have a mechanism for members of the public to request access to Government records for reference or research, which historians and researchers have used to nominate documents for review. The Government has made more records available to the public over time and will continue to do so.
Singapore stories not only enhance our understanding of history but enable us to reimagine our future. The SG60 Heart&Soul Experience, which was visited by two million visitors in the second half of last year, allowed Singaporeans to express their hopes and dreams for Singapore. I am glad to hear that it was well received, with most visitors giving it a rating of five out of five.
The Experience was also an example of utilising digital innovations, such as AI and immersive storytelling, to present a multisensory experience. By pairing the experience with NLB's resources, visitors had the opportunity to learn more about using AI in their daily life.
To conclude, Mr Chairman, as digital technologies become increasingly complex and sophisticated, their potential to transform our society and lives, whether for better or worse, has never been greater.
As the Malay peribahasa or proverb reminds us, "Berat sama dipikul, ringan sama dijinjing." We share responsibilities and work together to overcome challenges, be it big or small. Harnessing technology for good as well as mitigating the negative impacts of technologies require more than just technical knowledge. Ultimately, we need a whole-of-society effort that brings together the experiences and perspectives of the Government, industry, academia, civil society and citizens.
Let us work together to chart a bright and promising digital future for generations to come. [ Applause. ]
The Chairman : We have just around 25 minutes for clarifications. I will prioritise Members who have filed cuts according to the amount of time they have filed. Mr Sharael Taha.
Mr Sharael Taha : Thank you, Chairman. I thank the Minister and the political office holders for their comprehensive response. I have a few supplementary questions.
I believe the Minister did not get an opportunity to address my cut on the role of NAIC. What precisely is its role? Will it have execution authority or oversee cross-Ministry implementation or remain advisory? And how will the NAIC integrate economic strategy under MTI with digital governance under MDDI to ensure a coordinated delivery?
Also, on NAIS 2.0, what progress has been made and what did we learn from implementing NAIS 2.0 that will shape our current plans?
My last supplementary question is on trust and regulatory credibility. Minister Josephine Teo shared that Singapore is known for our trust and regulatory credibility. How can we operationalise this trust? Will we consider establishing a formal trusted AI certification regime for high-risk AI systems deployed in finance, healthcare and aviation? Maybe that could be our differentiator and competitive advantage.
The Chairman : Minister Josephine Teo.
Mrs Josephine Teo : Chairman, that is quite a few questions. I will try my best.
Perhaps to address Mr Sharael Taha's question on what we have learned from the implementation of NAIS 2.0, the Prime Minister launched NAIS 2.0 in December 2023. So, it is just a little over two years since we formally started the process. If I were to say up to now, what we are learning from it? Maybe two or three key observations.
The first, perhaps to refer to the earlier handout that MTI distributed – this is on Kampong AI – as an example. I recall that around 2023, we had visited a corner of San Francisco that was known as Cerebral Valley. It was very captivating for us because the hacker houses had such an energy about them. Papers that were being published by universities in the morning, in the evening, they already have a talk and people would come in and say, this is how I am going to use it. Then, a week later, a prototype would have already been built and venture capitalists were invited for show and tell. You could see that this generated a kind of buzz that was very enviable.
We asked ourselves: can we do that? We really did not know how comprehensive our ecosystem was at the time, that would centre its attention on AI-related activities. So, we said, let us start with Lorong AI.
It was not called Lorong AI at the start. We just decided that we just have to bring the community together. We did not have our Cerebral Valley then. We just had to see whether it could take off. It turned out to move a lot faster and grow a lot bigger than we expected. I think last year, Lorong AI hosted something like 150 events with about 4,000 people. Because of that, we have the confidence to do Kampong AI.
But what is the reflection and what is the lesson learned there? It is that you can start small but dream big. You do not always have to have a Big Bang approach. That is the first observation.
The second observation I would say is that in terms of how we have implemented ideas, actually, gaps are good opportunities. Let me explain a little bit.
After we did Lorong AI, we were also building up AI Centres of Excellence. If we did not have a good momentum with the AI Centres of Excellence, it will be hard to now try to push ahead with Champions of AI. We do not have a base to begin with.
And one of those particular Centres of Excellence was in manufacturing. When we looked at the activities being carried out at that Centre of Excellence, we realised that there are common problems that a sectorial Centre of Excellence could do. And then, it enabled us to think that perhaps in some sectors, there was a certain readiness for end-to-end transformation.
So, the national AI Missions, in a way, grew out of that effort too. Then, we asked ourselves, we now have activities in industry, we now have activities in Government, which Minister of State Jasmin Lau spoke about – AI activities. In research, things were also happening in a very positive way.
Microsoft has been in Singapore for years, but it was only last year that they set up a research entity here. Then Google DeepMind decided to open an office here.
What that tells us is that research activities are picking up pace, because AI top talents are attracted by bold ambition and a willingness to tackle the big questions, the problems that confound many people. So, we need to have that.
The gaps, being opportunities specifically apply in the talent space. We had started thinking broadly in terms of AI Creators. That would be the people in Microsoft Research, Google DeepMind. For example, in Google DeepMind, within the Singapore team, they are contributing to the development of the newest Gemini models.
So, we had thought about AI Creators, we had thought about AI Practitioners – machine learning engineers, data scientists – and we had thought about users – the broad base. As we were implementing the Centres of Excellence, we also realised that in between, you need people who both understand AI, not necessarily at the deepest level, but they have good domain expertise. There is this idea that you need "bilingual" talent – people who know enough of AI, know enough of their domain and they can marry the knowledge together.
Even in terms of how we think about the AI talent spectrum, what originally was a gap now turns out to be an opportunity for us to do something about it. That would be the second reflection.
The third relates specifically to your question about the role of NAIC.
There is a well-known saying. We use it very much to talk about social solidarity. It is an African saying. It goes, "If you want to go fast, you go alone. If you want to go far, you go together."
It turns out that it applies to AI development too. If we only confine ourselves to the effort that can be applied within the verticals – MDDI, you do this; MTI, you do this; I think we will remain effective in our own ways, but we will not get to synergise. Lorong AI can become Kampong AI because there is JTC. If JTC has not been seized with this idea, then this growth could not have quite come about.
So, the NAIC is precisely to do these things. Bring the whole together. Make the whole bigger than the sum of its parts.
Today, agencies already cooperate. It tends to be one-to-one, but what we need is many-to-many cooperation and we need the mechanism to sort things out – where to prioritise, where to apply more resources, where the exploration is heading into a dead end, what kinds of policy changes that you might need.
So, the NAIC is not just an advisory role. Our Prime Minister has many things on his plate. He advises us on a whole range of things, but to chair the National AI Council is a very strong indication that we are keen on making AI transformation real for all Singaporeans and not just something that just continues to exist as a vision. We have to turn this into reality. That is what it is intended to be.
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Very quickly, Mr Chairman, I think there was also a question about trust and regulatory credibility, and whether we will set up institutions to do that.
We have, in fact, taken steps. For example, quite apart from introducing model governance frameworks, we have set up a digital trust centre that is our designated AI Safety Institute. We also have the Centre of Advanced Technologies for Online Safety. These are institutions that have grown within academic organisations, but we will look for opportunities to collaborate with industry, with academia, to see how we can institutionalise this capability and turn it into an advantage for Singapore.
The Chairman : Ms Jessica Tan.
Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo : Sir, first of all, I would like to thank Minister for talking about the AI Impact programme and democratising AI. I think it is very important, so I do want to ask a little bit of clarification around that, more from an individual and citizen standpoint. How does this pan out and how can the ordinary citizen look forward to in terms of, what do they do with regards to the National AI Impact Programme and how do they access that?
The other question I had was, related to this as well, in terms of digital literacy specific to AI. I did touch upon the point about life stages and whether in terms of the digital literacy, as we are looking at it for citizens, even for workers, how do we ensure that this is looked at from a life stage standpoint, rather than from an age or just a profile standpoint?
And another question around responsible AI was that, given that it is widely used now and, in a lot of cases, for some very critical areas in terms of decision making, how do we ensure and how will the Government look at ensuring that biases are not kind of perpetuated? And the last point on inclusivity, given that AI is going to be very much part of our lives and it is not something we can ignore, how are we going to look at the multiple languages and supporting those in terms of people who are not so proficient in English?
Mrs Josephine Teo : Mr Chairman, in terms of how citizens are going to access the National AI Impact Programme, it again will not be solely through the channels that MDDI and IMDA oversee. For one, we will work very closely with trade associations and chambers as well as professional bodies for outreach. There is very strong interest from these intermediaries to get the word out and we welcome their interest.
We already have existing programmes that serve as a useful base so, for example, the enterprise solutions will very largely be offered through the Productivity Solutions Grant scheme. The Productivity Solutions Grant is well known to many of our enterprises. The intermediaries are also familiar with it. I mentioned in my earlier speech that about 30% of the solutions are now AI-enabled. That will likely grow because of the interest and also because of the availability of the tools.
If we look at enterprises that already use some digital tools, the Member can imagine that the vendor goes to the enterprise and say, "If you add this AI tool on top of it, actually, you can do more things than you were able to previously." So, this is one way to propagate on a base that is already quite ready. It is already quite well equipped.
For individuals, I mentioned that we will start, initially, with the accountancy and legal professions and then look to extend towards fields like human resources (HR). HR, for example, easily has 50,000 members, 50,000 practitioners. So, through their own mechanisms, individuals can also be reached. So, those are the different ways in which we will propagate the access to the National AI Impact Programme.
We welcome suggestions. If anyone comes to us and say, "This is what you can do." We are very keen to understand how. I believe that our institutes of higher learning are also very much involved because they interact with the private sector and they have a lot of students who are interested to prototype solutions in order to implement them, so we will look at those as well.
The Member's question about responsible AI biases, how to make sure they are not perpetuated. The way we approach the potential risks and harms of AI is a multi-prong one. In some instances, we already have safeguards that perhaps need to be sharpened. So, for example, pornography that could be enabled by AI, child sexual exploitation material. These are already prohibited under the Penal Code. We can update the Penal Code to make it clear. We can also think of instances, like the Workplace Fairness Act. If there is a demonstration of bias in the recruitment process, then that piece of legislation can be relied upon, because it does not depend on how the unfairness, the discrimination was produced, so we can deal with it that way.
But there will be instances where existing legislation, existing laws, existing measures are not enough. So, for example, we introduced the Elections (Integrity of Online Advertising), or ELIONA, legislation. This was specifically to deal with AI-generated content that are applied to candidates in an election context, so we will continue to maintain this sort of nimble approach. Use existing laws, sharpen the laws, if and when necessary, but also do not hesitate to introduce new measures when they are needed and when it is clear what can be done about them.
So, those are the things that we will do. Inclusivity, I fully agree with you, multiple inclusivity. I fully agree with you, multiple languages — perhaps I will ask Senior Minister of State Tan to reply because he has been working on this.
The Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information (Mr Tan Kiat How) : Sir, to elaborate on Minister Josephine's point about inclusivity, specifically around languages.
As we know, Singapore is a multilingual society and different communities take a lot of pride in their languages, especially mother tongues. One part of the work is that MDDI looks at, specifically the "I" part of MDDI, is around information. There is a committee where we bring in academics, representatives from the media, the schools, around translation. That is the National Translation Committee, which I help to oversee.
One project that we are working on, as a very good example of how we are thinking about practical tools for AI, is about translation. And translation is not just by using any tool, any large language models (LLMs), because you need local context, local nuances, for example, not everybody understands what "chope the table" is.
So, how do you translate some of these local terms, especially local specific-context terms into different mother tongue languages? The National Translation Committee has been working with GovTech and Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) on a number of LLMs and to fine tune a model for a local context. One of the objectives is to, hopefully, have a model which we can use by the later part of this year, to allow greater inclusivity and accessibility for those not speaking English to access our public-facing websites and other materials. And to support Public Service agencies translate many of the material, which is in English, into different mother tongue languages – Malay, Mandarin, Tamil – much more easily.
And how can we do so across the board, at-scale, across the Public Service? So, we are developing an AI tool for that and we hope to share more details in the later part of the year, but this is just one specific example how we are using AI technology. Not just "copying and pasting" what other countries are doing, but fine-tuning, adapting, customising for our local context, and do so in a way that creates value and adds that element of inclusivity for all Singaporeans. We hope to share more details later and hope to get the support of all Members.
The Chairman : We are fast approaching guillotine time, so I will take one more clarification. Mr Henry Kwek.
Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry : Chairman, I would like to ask MDDI on what MDDI can do to set and communicate the right expectations for our people citizenry, given the fact that we are vastly transforming the way we interact with the citizens. I applaud the MDDI for the ambition and the determination to transform the way we do e-services. Basically, in a nutshell, we are asking the Government to do more with less; do faster; do differently, not just transacting with Government, but also giving people advice, like SupportGoWhere. So, it is quite a big way of transformation of how we do things, in terms of Government service.
And we are also, instead of developing services through coding, we are asking our civil service to orchestrate AI agents to code. So, it is fairly different. With new ways of doing, there is always a risk of things not working out initially. So, how are we going to set the right expectations? Like I think Minister of State Lau has mentioned that Singaporeans have high expectation of e-services.
Maybe we could look at how Google does it, when they deliver services to all of us, they have Google Beta, Google Preview, using this to communicate to people that some services —
The Chairman : Mr Kwek.
Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry : — may be a trial, and how can we better communicate the expectations? Yes, I will stop here.
The Chairman : Minister Josephine Teo, please, if you could keep your response concise.
Mrs Josephine Teo : Minister of State Jasmin Lau can supplement, but maybe very quickly, on citizen expectations. We do not see it in a bad way. The Member and I use digital services all the time. And for us as citizens to want the Government to do better, in terms of digital Government services delivery, is a very natural thing. And so, we want to hold ourselves to higher standards.
But the Member's point, I think is a very useful one to keep in mind, which is that the expectations around failures, the expectations around what we may need to do to introduce more security that could come at the expense of some convenience that we have been used to, that is something that we need to socialise more people to.
In cybersecurity, we always say that there is a trade-off. When things are able to move in a very fast way, you worry about whether the security features have been properly built-in, and there may be times that we need to prioritise the security more than the convenience. So, the same for some of the services that we may have to offer, we do not know for a fact that we need that sort of thing and we will try, not to purposely, to deliberately, introduce inconvenience. But if and when we need to, we have to explain to people and do so properly. I do not know whether Minister of State Jasmin Lau wants to add on.
The Chairman : Minister of State Jasmin, you have one minute.
Ms Jasmin Lau : I thank Mr Henry Kwek for asking the clarification, because it gives us a chance to explain to the rest of Singaporeans how we try to optimise. I mentioned faster and better services just now, but it is very important that we do not view digital transformation as just one or two metrics. Our systems must be fast, but also secure. Efficient, but also resilient. Ambitious, but also trusted. And so, we cannot afford to optimise one dimension over another. It is very educational, and I hope more Singaporeans can understand that we must optimise across all dimensions – speed, security, cost and trust.
The Chairman : Thank you, Minister of State. On that note, Mr Sharael Taha, would you wish to withdraw your amendment, please?
Mr Sharael Taha : I was hoping to ask another supplementary question, but I will take your guidance, Mr Chairman.
The Chairman : No. No. No. [ Laughter. ]
6.00 pm
Mr Sharael Taha : Okay. Mr Chairman, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Minister Josephine Teo, Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How, Minister of State Rahayu, Minister of State Jasmin Lau and the Permanent Secretary of MDDI, and the whole MDDI team for the responses and the great work that they do. I would also like to thank our GPC and fellow Members for submitting 25 cuts and with more than three hours of debate, leaving no stone unturned; and I am quite sure quite a few of us would like to ask a few more supplementary questions.
AI features prominently in this Budget. AI is not a conventional policy domain. It evolves not over decades but over months, if not weeks. Frontier models double in capacity within short cycles, agentic systems are emerging with autonomous decision-making capacity, and geopolitical contentions affect —
The Chairman: Mr Sharael Taha.
Mr Sharael Taha : — energy, data flows and supply chain. Yet, amid this ambiguity is where ambiguity and velocity —
The Chairman: Mr Sharael Taha.
Mr Sharael Taha : — MDDI must juggle many things at once, drive innovation, safeguard trust, develop the deep and broad-based skill sets, protect the vulnerable and secure national competitiveness. That is no small task, and I would like to thank our team in MDDI for doing all of that. And with that, Mr Chairman, I seek leave to withdraw my amendment.
[(proc text) Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. (proc text)]
[(proc text) The sum of $2,993,365,900 for Head Q ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. (proc text)]
[(proc text) The sum of $119,025,200 for Head Q ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. (proc text)]