Singapore's forward-thinking approach to AI regulation
Singapore’s motto is “Majulah Singapura,” or “Onwards, Singapore.” With forward-thinking at the heart of the country, it’s little surprise that Singapore has readily embraced artificial intelligence and established itself as a serious player in the AI space, ranking third in the world behind the U.S. and China. In 2019, Singapore published the first edition of the National AI Strategy (NAIS) and was the first to launch a Model AI Governance Framework.
With plans to invest S$1 billion into computing, talent and industry development over the next five years, Singapore demonstrates its commitment to the AI development space.
For that reason, it’s important to understand how Singapore approaches AI governance and regulation and the impact it may have on your business.
Singapore’s AI regulations
Singapore does not have regulations specific to the governance of AI. Rather than issuing sweeping AI regulation that covers all industries, Singapore is taking a sectoral approach, with individual ministries, authorities and commissions publishing guidelines and regulations.
Financial
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s central bank and integrated financial regulator, was the first to develop AI governance regulation.
In 2019, MAS announced it was working with financial industry partners to create the Veritas framework, which provides financial institutions with a verifiable way to incorporate the fairness, ethics, accountability and transparency (FEAT) principles into their AI and data analytics-driven solutions.
Health
In October 2021, the Ministry of Health published the AI in Healthcare Guidelines to support patient safety and improve trust in the use of AI in health care. The guidelines provide recommendations to encourage the safe development and implementation of AI-Medical Devices, as well as any other AI use cases implemented in healthcare.
Info-communications and media
Among the most active in regulating AI governance have been the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Personal Data Protection Commission. The two have launched guidelines or initiatives annually since 2019.
In 2023, the IMDA launched AI Verify, an AI governance testing framework and software toolkit that validates the performance of AI systems against a set of internationally recognized principles through standardized tests. Since its introduction, AI Verify has joined the ranks of the growing body of work on AI governance.
In January 2024, the IMDA issued the Proposed Model AI Governance Framework for Generative AI and launched the Generative AI Evaluation Sandbox with Enterprise Singapore, a government agency championing enterprise development, in early February.
Key aspects of Singapore’s AI National Strategy
The release of ChatGPT in late 2023 altered the AI ecosystem dramatically. Singapore was swift to respond, with an update to its national AI strategy, NAIS 2.0.
At its foundation are two goals:
- The pursuit of excellence in AI, advancing the field and maximizing value creation.
- Empowering individuals, businesses, and communities to use AI with confidence, discernment and trust.
The NAIS 2.0 also sets out Singapore’s long-term visions and goals with regard to AI, which includes working towards three systems through a series of “enablers”:
- Activity Drivers (supported by industry, government and research)
- People & Communities (enhanced by talent, capabilities and placemaking)
- Infrastructure & Environment (strengthened by computing, data, a trusted environment and leadership in thought and action)
The strategy statement also outlines actions that Singapore will undertake across these systems and enablers, including:
- Strengthening Singapore's AI startup ecosystem
- Upskilling the workforce
- Unlocking government data for use cases that serve the public good
- Maintaining a pro-innovation regulatory environment for AI while ensuring appropriate guardrails
- Establishing Singapore as an ambitious and pragmatic international partner on AI innovation and governance
- Accelerate public sector adoption of AI
- Update national AI research and development plans
- Attract world-class AI creators to Singapore
- Boost the AI practitioner pool
Model AI Governance Framework for Generative AI: 9 dimensions
In May 24, the IMDA has published Model AI Governance Framework for Generative AI therefore seeks to set forth a systematic and balanced approach to address generative AI concerns while continuing to facilitate innovation. The framework proposes nine dimensions in totality, to foster a trusted ecosystem.
- Accountability by assigning responsibility to stakeholders during AI development
- Ensuring the trusted data sources for quality of data used in AI models
- Trusted development and deployment through transparency and disclosure
- Incident reporting for timely notification and remediation
- Testing and assurance by implementing third-party testing based on common AI standards to build trust with end-users
- Security by addressing the risks of new threats that emerge
- Developing technologies to improve transparency for origin and creation of content
- Safety and alignment research and development to accelerate investment in AI
- Leveraging AI to benefit society by democratizing access, enhancing public sector adoption, upskilling workers, and developing sustainable AI systems
Thus, Singapore’s regulations, National AI Strategy and Framework are examples of what governance and compliance leaders need to know and track — to learn more, download the most recent edition of our regulation and legislation roundup, with forecasts and insights for the months ahead.
