Artificial Intelligence (AI) empowers businesses to do more with less people.<\/p>\n
Many businesses are racing ahead to take full advantage.<\/p>\n
DBS Bank\u2019s announcement that AI<\/a> will eliminate 4,000 jobs across 19 markets provides both a proof point and a harbinger of what\u2019s to come.\u00a0The United States\u2019 latest economic numbers do as well, finding itself enjoying economic growth with no increase in employment.<\/p>\n Across the world, corporates eliminate job openings to make financial space for larger IT budgets and defer filling open positions that AI may soon make redundant.<\/p>\n The Singapore government\u2019s actions to address these challenges constitute a political necessity, as more than half of employees in Singapore are worried AI will take over their jobs within the next two years, according to Manpower\u2019s Global Talent Barometer<\/a>.<\/p>\n Announced last week, Singapore\u2019s Budget takes steps to mitigate the harms that will come from adopting AI without workforce training.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n But this could amplify other harms\u00a0that\u00a0AI brings.\u00a0<\/p>\n As sustainable business network and consultancy BSR puts it, \u201cSocial and environmental impacts are at the core of AI risks and opportunities.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Singapore\u2019s Budget acknowledges need to protect workers in the AI era\u00a0<\/p>\n Singapore\u2019s 2026 Budget\u00a0recognises\u00a0that AI adoption comes with immense potential: \u201cTo raise productivity, unlock new discoveries, and transform lives in ways that we are only beginning to understand,\u201d said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.<\/p>\n At the same time, the Budget also\u00a0recognises\u00a0that \u201cwith this promise comes deep\u00a0deep\u00a0concerns\u201d key amongst them that \u201cworkers worry that AI will displace jobs.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Singapore\u00a0has\u00a0established\u00a0a National AI Council chaired by the prime minister to ensure AI will be deployed deliberately where productivity gains and exportable capabilities can be meaningful.\u00a0<\/p>\n With a growing risk of people losing or not getting a job that requires AI skills, the Budget includes measures to upskill AI use, including six months of free access to premium AI tools for Singaporeans who take up selected courses, and productivity support for firms.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Just as younger workers and other individuals will be displaced by AI, Singapore takes these steps to prevent what the Singapore Business Federation refers to as the\u00a0\u201cAI divide\u201d,\u00a0in which larger firms accelerate and smaller businesses struggle.\u00a0<\/p>\n The challenge: the more you work to ensure AI benefits as many people as possible, the more you increase the detrimental environmental impact that will bring.<\/p>\n Simultaneously, Singapore\u2019s Budget battles the climate crisis<\/p>\n The climate crisis threatens Singapore, through rising sea levels, increased temperatures, and more intense rainfall.<\/p>\n Singapore\u2019s Budget\u00a0recognises\u00a0the need to keep up its efforts to combat the climate crisis, even as \u201csome other governments are scaling back their climate ambitions\u201d,\u00a0as\u00a0the prime minister asserted during his Budget speech<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Already, Singapore has the highest carbon tax rate in Asia.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Its solar deployment target has been raised.\u00a0<\/p>\n Singapore continues importing low-carbon electricity, and moves to further diversify its energy mix, including hydrogen and nuclear power.\u00a0<\/p>\n The country is aiming for 100\u00a0per cent\u00a0cleaner energy vehicles by 2040.\u00a0<\/p>\n Its efforts on AI will make such efforts even more necessary.\u00a0<\/p>\n The International Energy Agency projects that global data-centre\u00a0electricity use will double by 2030, driven by AI\u2019s growing demand for computing power. Data\u00a0centres\u00a0already consume over 1.9 trillion\u00a0litres\u00a0of water each\u00a0year,\u00a0a figure expected to rise sharply by 2030 as cooling and chip production intensify.\u00a0<\/p>\n Each new AI model adds to the load \u2013 more energy use, more emissions, and greater strain on power grids.\u00a0<\/p>\n Singapore\u2019s AI plans add to that.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The reality to balance: the impossibility of separating AI\u2019s growth from its increasing emissions and water usage.\u00a0<\/p>\n Government cannot address AI challenges alone\u00a0<\/p>\n Singapore understands AI challenges that social compact.\u00a0<\/p>\n With the government\u00a0leading with reskilling workers with practical applications in real-world business contexts,\u00a0all will be for naught if\u00a0businesses and investors\u00a0do\u00a0not\u00a0follow.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Singapore government\u00a0sees clearly\u00a0the threat that will come from a world in which the benefits of AI flow to the few.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Singapore also\u00a0recognises\u00a0the existential threat the climate crisis brings, including how AI adoption increases that challenge.\u00a0<\/p>\n Recognising\u00a0that data\u00a0centres\u00a0are heavy users of water and power, Singapore\u2019s\u00a0Infocomm\u00a0Media Development Authority (IMDA) issued a Green Data\u00a0Centre\u00a0Roadmap to pioneer the sustainable growth of data\u00a0centres.\u00a0<\/p>\n But Singapore cannot do it alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n