SINGAPORE: Amid concerns over the impact of artificial intelligence on jobs, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong assured Singaporeans that they remain the central focus of the country’s economic strategy.
“Singaporeans will always be at the centre of everything we do,” he said during his National Day Rally speech on Sunday (Aug 17).
Acknowledging that technology will lead to some roles evolving and others disappearing, Mr Wong said new jobs will also emerge.
To help Singaporeans seize new job opportunities, he announced a new job-matching initiative to be led by the five Community Development Councils (CDCs), which will help connect jobseekers with vacancies.
He noted that while previous waves of technological change improved job quality and pay, many now fear AI may replace entire occupations.
“I understand these concerns, and I assure you: even as we embrace Al and technology, we will not lose sight of our key priority.”
Mr Wong stressed that innovation and technology are vital to raising productivity and improving lives in a sustainable way.
Singapore has invested in research and development for over two decades, including an early bet on biomedical sciences that proved valuable during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are applying the same long-term approach to other frontier technologies,” he said, highlighting quantum computing as an example.
Beyond cutting-edge research, Mr Wong said it is important for new technologies to be adopted across the wider economy.