MDDI 演講稿 · 2025-11-10
陳杰豪高階政務部長在 Compact AI 研討會 2025 上的主旨演講
要點
- • 5 年內新加坡科技就業增長 24%——從 2019 年 17.2 萬人到 2024 年近 21.4 萬人；科技畢業生起薪比平均高約 25%。
- • 2024 年 SME 的 AI 採用率從約 4% 三倍至 15%；大企業從 40% 升至 60%。約 6 成科技人才在非科技行業工作。
- • 「雙語人才」（bilingual talent）是關鍵——既懂技術、又懂業務領域；純寫程式碼的角色最脆弱。
- • 三件要記住的事：①能否把 AI 應用到真實業務問題上；②懂得 AI 應用的「風險面」（業務、法律、聲譽）——尤其在醫療、金融這類受監管行業；③地緣政治：穩定與協作能力本身就是溢價優勢。
- • 「競爭不是你 vs AI，而是你 vs 那些更會用 AI 的人」。
完整譯文（繁體中文）
MDDI 英文原文譯文 · 翻譯日期: 2026-05-02
晚上好，
新加坡職工總會專業人士及主管協會（NTUC-PME）總監 Bernard 兄，
各位女士、先生：
我很高興今晚和大家在一起。
2. 在我開始之前，請舉手——在座有誰從事科技崗位超過 20 年？超過 30 年的呢？
3. 我接觸電腦差不多是 30 年前——這個世界已經變了不少。
4. 今天，藉助雲原生（cloud native）與 AI，許多事情的做法已經大不相同。
5. 我知道大家心裡多少有些擔憂——這對新加坡的科技行業與崗位意味著什麼？我們的科技生態如何應對 AI、我們要如何為巨大的機會擺好位置？
6. 我開講之前再做一次小調查——在場誰是「在科技公司裡」做科技崗位的？又有多少人是「在金融、醫療、物流等非科技公司裡」做科技崗位的？
7. 大約各佔一半——這也大致就是整個科技體系的比例。
8. 今天我會分享幾個視角——第一，政府在幫助新加坡充分利用 AI 這類技術上正在做什麼；第二，我們如何與 NTUC 等許多夥伴合作，讓我們的科技勞動力為 AI 做好準備；第三，我認為在這一空間向前走需要哪些關鍵能力與技能。
9. 先講幾個資料。過去 5 年，新加坡科技就業增長了 24%——從 2019 年 17.2 萬名科技專業人士，到 2024 年接近 21.4 萬。科技畢業生的起薪也持續具競爭力——比應屆生平均高出約 25%。
10. 第二，我們的公司在更多地使用技術。IMDA 上月釋出的《新加坡數字經濟報告》顯示——2024 年 SME 的 AI 採用率三倍——從約 4% 升至 15%；較大公司則從 40% 升至 60%。
11. 公司在認真思考如何使用 AI。這些都是自我報告——他們用得好不好是另一回事——但他們的渴望與意願是真實的。
12. 這一點也呼應了剛才的現場調查——大約 6/10 的科技專業人士在非科技行業工作——物流、醫療、金融、酒店、零售等等。
13. 這就是大家要記住的三個統計資料。下面我接著講。
14. 鑑於這種需求——公司在尋找的能力、專長、畫像與心性都在演化。我們如何跟上市場？我們如何讓自己保持相關、保持有價值、保持可僱傭？
15. 這就引到我接下來的內容。我跟新加坡很多僱主聊過——大公司、小公司、本地與外資科技公司。對我而言——醫療行業是我比較熟悉的——「醫療+科技轉型」是我在衛生部的一項重點。
16. 我們如何用 AI？我們如何在所有醫療場景中——不只是醫院裡，而是從「人口健康」（上游）一路到「促成個人行為改變」（下游）——廣泛而深入地使用技術？這要求我們在醫療中大量、密集地使用技術。
17. 讓我提三點供大家在前進時參考。
18. 第一，科技專業人士需要怎樣的能力？相信在場各位都知道——AI 是相當重要的責任。問題在於——它會以多快的速度顛覆我們的行業？能力需求會以多快的速度變化？它對崗位（不只是科技崗位）的衝擊有多大？
19. 要發揮有用的角色——我們必須思考——你能把 AI 應用到哪裡。這是當下大家在自問的最根本問題之一。
20. 現實是——鉅額資金正在投向 AI 模型的開發。最終誰來為它買單？是企業——只有當它給業務或生活帶來增量價值時，領導者才會買單。
21. 因此 AI 必須被用來解決問題、改善效率、降低成本——本質上是「做一些以前做不到的事」。對公司而言——這就是底線。對消費者而言——如果一個工具讓你生活更便捷，你願意為它付費。
22. 歸根結底，未來會有大量努力是關於「如何把 AI 應用到真實世界的問題上」。真實世界的問題在哪裡？在行業裡。
23. 在醫療行業，我們在尋找能預測癌症機率、加快診斷的 AI 模型。在每一個行業裡，我們都要記住——AI 能幫我們解決哪些客戶願意為之買單的問題。
24. 這就出現了「雙語人才」（bilingual talent）的角色——懂技術、但更重要的是懂業務、能落地真實問題的工程師。
25. 在新加坡，相對其他地方我們位置不錯——因為我們以「商業樞紐」聞名。我們在使用 AI 時把保障措施做到位，並緩釋相關風險。
26. 我和伊利諾伊大學的幾位校友聊過。一位先生說他很擔心——無論你做的是軟體編碼還是業務流程外包——如果你只做「純寫程式碼」的事，你的角色會比較脆弱。
27. 讓你有價值、避免被裁的，是「同時把技術與業務領域知識應用起來」的能力，而不是隻在純技術位置上工作。這就是第一個要記住的點。
28. 第二個要記住的點是——使用 AI 時理解風險的重要性。這本質上是商業決策——伴隨業務風險、法律風險與聲譽風險。這在醫療、金融等受監管行業尤為關鍵——這些公司必須維持強聲譽，並在全球供應鏈中扮演關鍵角色。
29. 第三——我們處在一個「技術成為地緣政治競逐空間」的時代。各國把 AI 視為重要的戰略優勢——這就是為什麼你看到兩大 AI 強國之間的對話不斷展開。當國家之間出現影響經濟或系統的擾動時，「穩定」與「能與他人協作的能力」本身就是溢價優勢。
30. 我們已經開始有「雙語 AI 人才」——懂技術、能把它應用到業務上，解決人們願意為之付費的真實問題——讓方案既可商業化、又可持續。
31. 我們於是能放就位「在不同維度上都被信任」的方案。我們運營的生態環境，能充分利用全球最佳實踐（在能力與模型方面）——我相信這把我們置於一個非常有利的位置。
32. 最後一點——我們能做什麼？我認為最重要的投資，是「投資自己」——投資僱主在新加坡及本地區所看重的技能與能力。你的技能會非常寶貴——因為能解決新問題的人並不多——價值就在那裡。
33. 我們也要思考「顛覆」——競爭不是「你 vs AI」，而是「你 vs 在別處更會用 AI 的人」。在新加坡——我們有一個體系，在「與生態各方協作」的能力上可以與世界任何地方匹敵。
34. 作為一個體系——我們在這裡支援個人的職業生涯。即使我們是一個小市場，我也相信我們能把這件事做好——支援那些希望在這裡為世界開發方案的個人、公司、企業、創新者。
35. 我會以「審慎樂觀」（cautiously optimistic）來收尾——我認為有重要因素站在我們這一邊。
36. 趨勢就在那裡——但只要我們用更協調的方式協作——前方就有光明的未來。
37. 謝謝。
英文原文
MDDI 官網原始記錄 · 抓取日期: 2026-05-02
Good evening,
Brother Bernard, Director of NTUC-PME,
Ladies and gentlemen.
I’m very pleased to join all of you here today.
2. Before I start, just a show of hands – who has been in a tech role for more than 20 years? What about more than 30 years?
3. I started learning about computers almost 30 years ago, and the world has changed quite a fair bit.
4. Today, things are done much differently with technologies such as cloud native and AI.
5. I know at the back of our minds, there are some concerns about what this means for the tech industry and roles in Singapore, how is the tech ecosystem gearing up to think about AI and how are we going to position ourselves for great opportunities.
6. Maybe let’s do one more poll before I get into my remarks – who in the audience is in a tech role in a tech company? What about a tech role in a non-tech company, such as financial services, healthcare, logistics?
7. We have about half from each, and that is roughly the proportion of the entire technical system as well.
8. Today, I will be sharing some perspectives – firstly, on what the government is doing in terms of positioning Singapore on how to fully utilise technology like AI. Secondly, what are we doing to work together with our partners like NTUC and many others, to prepare our tech workforce for AI. And thirdly, what I think are some of the key competencies and skill sets that are needed as we move forward in this space.
9. Let me start out by sharing some statistics. Over the last five years, tech employment in Singapore has grown by 24%, from 172,000 tech professionals in 2019 to nearly 214,000 in 2024. Tech graduates also continue to earn competitive starting salaries – about 25% more than the average fresh graduates.
10. Secondly, our companies are using more tech. According to the Singapore Digital Economy Report, which was published last month by IMDA, shows that AI adoption among SMEs tripled in 2024, from around 4% to 15%. Larger companies saw an increase in AI adoption from 40% to 60%.
11. Companies are seriously thinking about how to use AI. These are all self-reported, whether they use it well is another matter – but they are keen, and there is a desire to use AI in their business.
12. And this shows in the poll I did earlier with the audience. About 6 of 10 of tech professionals work in non-tech sectors. These sectors are logistics, healthcare, financial services, hospitality, retail, etc.
13. Thus, those are the three important statistics that we should keep in mind, as I share the next part of my remarks.
14. Given the demand, the kinds of capabilities, competencies, profile, and temperament that companies are looking for, are evolving. How then do you keep abreast of the market? How do we keep ourselves relevant so that we can continue to be valuable and employable?
15. This brings me to the next part of my comments, I've been speaking to a number of employers across Singapore – large and small, local and foreign tech companies. And for me, I'm more familiar with the healthcare sector as one of my priorities in the Ministry of Health is to transform healthcare and technology.
16. How can we use AI? How do we use technology across all healthcare settings across the board – not just in the hospital, but upstream from population health, all the way down to nudging behavior changes for individuals? That requires us to use technology extensively and intensively in healthcare.
17. Let me highlight three points for us to think about as we move forward.
18. Firstly, what are the kind of competencies needed for tech professionals? I believe that all of you here know that AI is quite an important responsibility. The argument here is how soon will it disrupt our industries, how fast the demand will change in terms of capabilities, and what kind of impact it might make on jobs. Not just tech jobs, but across the board.
19. To play a useful role, we need to think about where you can apply AI. This is one of the most fundamental questions people asking themselves now.
20. The reality is that a lot of money is being poured into developing AI models. Who is going to pay for it? Ultimately, it will be the enterprises – leaders will pay for it only if it adds value in their business or to their lives.
21. Thus, AI needs to be used to solve a problem, improve efficiency, cut cost – essentially do something that they cannot do before. For companies, that's the bottom line. For consumers, if you're using a tool to make your life easier, you're willing to pay for it.
22. At the end of the day, there is going to be a lot of effort to look at how to apply AI to solve real world problems. And where are real world problems situated? They're in industries.
23. In healthcare, we are looking for AI models that can help predict the likelihood of cancer and provide a faster diagnosis. In every sector and industry, we keep in mind the problems that AI can help us to solve, and customers are willing to pay for it.
24. There is a role for bilingual talents – engineers who understand the technology, but most importantly, know how to solve a real problem that requires the person to understand the business and apply the solution.
25. In Singapore, we are in a very good position compared to others elsewhere because we are known as a business hub. We ensure that we put in place safeguards when using AI and mitigate the risks involved.
26. I had a conversation with some alumni of University of Illinois. One gentleman told me that he was worried because whether you are in software coding or business process outsourcing, if you are functioning as a pure coder, your role is vulnerable.
27. What makes you valuable and helps you avoid redundancy is the ability to apply both technology and business domain knowledge together, rather than working from a purely technical position. So that's the first point to keep in mind.
28. The second point to keep in mind is the importance of understanding risk when applying AI. It's a business decision that comes with business, legal risk, and reputational risks. This is especially critical in regulated sectors like healthcare and financial services, where companies need to maintain strong reputations and play crucial roles in the global supply chain.
29. Thirdly, we are in a position where technology has now become a contestation space in geopolitics. Countries look at AI as an important strategic advantage and that's where you see the conversations happening between the two major AI powers. When there are disruptions that affect countries' economies or systems, having stability and the ability for people to work together becomes a premium advantage.
30. We are starting to have bilingual AI talents who understand technology and can apply it to business, solving real problems that people are willing to pay for, making solutions both commercialisable and viable.
31. We can then put in place solutions that are trusted from different aspects. We operate in an ecosystem environment that makes full use the best practices available in terms of capabilities and models and I think that puts us in a very good position.
32. This brings me to the last point: what can we do? Well, I think the most important investment that all of us can do is to invest in ourselves, in terms of the skill sets and competencies that employers are looking for in Singapore and in the region. Your skill set will be very valuable because there aren’t many that can solve new problems, and that's where the value lies.
33. We also have to think about disruption. The competition isn't between us and AI, but between us and those who can use AI better elsewhere. In Singapore, we have a system here that can rival any in the world, in terms of our ability to work with different players in the ecosystem.
34. As a system, we are here to support individuals in their careers. I think we can do this well notwithstanding the fact that we are small market. We are able to support individuals, companies, enterprises, and innovators who want to be here to develop solutions for the world.
35. I’ll end off my remarks by being cautiously optimistic – I think there are important factors that are in our favour.
36. The trends are there, but I think that as long as we work together in a more coordinated manner, there is a bright future ahead of us.
37. Thank you.