Singapore Advisory Council calls for broader consultation for AI governance at inaugural meeting

Singapore’s Advisory Council on the Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data has held its inaugural meeting, discussing a paper released in June by the country’s Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) on the responsible development and adoption of AI and calling for broader engagement and consultation to improve the draft model framework, according to the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA).

The Council is one of three interlinked initiatives by Singapore to position the country as a leading hub for AI, along with the PDPC paper and a research program run by the Singapore Management University on the governance of AI and data use. Council members include Google, Microsoft, and Alibaba, as well as the leaders of local companies. They intend to support Singapore’s efforts to contribute to the global discourse on AI by proposing a pragmatic governance framework to put ethical principles into practice. An updated draft of the model will be made available soon, according to the announcement.

“I am especially thankful for the attendance of a strong and diverse transnational mix of members, including tech giants, companies large and small, users, academia and government,” says Senior Minister of State Dr. Janil Puthucheary. “Building a future Digital Economy with a trusted AI ecosystem is critical.”

Singapore’s adoption of AI for biometrics includes a planned National Digital Identity Facial Biometric System which could be used by banks and healthcare facilities next year, and a biometric mobile app for conducting secure digital transactions with the government.

Article Topics

artificial intelligence  |  biometrics  |  Singapore  |  standards