DPM Heng Swee Keat at the Asia Tech x Singapore 2024 Opening Ceremony

Minister Josephine Teo,
Distinguished guests, 
Ladies and gentlemen,

A very good morning! Welcome to Asia Tech Singapore or ATxSG. 

I am glad to see such a diverse range of tech stakeholders from Asia and beyond.

Over the next two days, we will be exploring important questions, such as: 

The developments in new technologies like AI and quantum computing, and their impact on our communities, and how we can harness these technologies to create new opportunities for innovation and growth. 

Technological developments are by themselves neutral – these can be harnessed as a force for good; or be exploited to inflict harm. 
Science, technology and innovation can be harnessed to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges, such as climate change, public health, and keeping people healthy as the world population ages. 

But at the same time, technological advancements can be used to destroy lives, commit crimes and damage our planet. 

The more widely deployed technologies are, the greater the risks that these could be exploited or bring negative consequences. Cyber security threats, disinformation, and the dislocation of jobs and industries are just some examples. 

So the key question is how we can capture the upsides of technology, while using it responsibly to benefit society. 

As technology stakeholders, we must make a collective commitment, to capture the upsides of technology, while using it responsibly and ethically to benefit humanity.  This is a complex question which we will need to ask ourselves repeatedly. 

But let me take this opportunity to suggest three areas of priority for us to work together.   

First, to build ecosystems to nurture and grow new technologies. 

Second, to use technology sustainably. 

And third, to develop good governance to guide the development of tech. 

Building technology ecosystems

First, while technology and innovation can be harnessed to solve global challenges, to succeed, we need to build a whole ecosystem together.

In these ecosystems, public and private sector researchers, innovative start-ups, venture firms, and Government agencies work together to accelerate tech breakthroughs and its adoption and diffusion. 

These ecosystems need to have deep pools of research excellence, talent and patient capital, and infrastructure such as laboratories or compute facilities. 

We also need good rule of law to provide legal certainty and to protect intellectual property.

Over the last three decades, Singapore has been striving to develop such an ecosystem. We seek to serve as a Global-Asia node of technology, innovation, and enterprise, connecting with innovative nodes all around the world. By working in close partnership, we can better harness  technology for the benefit of humanity.

The value of many new technologies only emerge after many years of investment, trial and experimentation. The wave of digitalisation is one example – its value to support remote work, and manage the movement of goods and people, came across vividly during the Covid pandemic. 

Beyond digitalisation, the next wave that followed was artificial intelligence.  Last year, Singapore launched our National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2.0, to accelerate efforts in AI research, and the development of talent and infrastructure.

Looking ahead, another wave is coming, and that is quantum technology. Quantum communications, quantum sensing and quantum computing all have the potential to unlock new value.

Quantum computing, for instance, can have far higher processing capabilities, which can be used in many areas, from simulating complex molecules for drug discovery, to optimising investment portfolios, to crytography. It can be, as the common phrase goes, be a ‘quantum-leap’.   

Quantum computing can also have synergies with AI. For example, it can improve the efficiency of developing and training advanced AI models, which advances the use of AI in deep learning, natural language processing, and computer vision.

This can significantly transform the global landscape and create new economic and social value. 

However, there are still many challenges to realising the quantum computer, including requirements for cryogenic cooling, longer qubit coherence time, and error correction.  Researchers across the world are also pursuing different approaches to achieving scale in quantum computing and to be commercially viable. 

To address these challenges and to continue to pursue the promises of quantum technology, Singapore is launching our National Quantum Strategy today. 

The seeds of this strategy was planted almost 20 years ago, when we established the Centre for Quantum Technologies, or CQT, 
at the National University of Singapore.  

Today, CQT is regarded as a premier institution globally for quantum science and technology.

We have also earlier set up the National Quantum Office (NQO) to bring the public and private sectors to work synergistically to develop the quantum ecosystem in Singapore. The National Quantum Office will continue to play this important role.

Under the National Quantum Strategy, we have identified four strategic areas where we will invest close to $300 million. 

One, to strengthen scientific excellence in high impact areas of quantum research, such as quantum communications and security, quantum processors, and quantum sensing.

The CQT will be elevated to a flagship national R&D centre for quantum technologies, which will bring together the best research talent, with nodes in our universities and in the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

This will provide a foundation of scientific expertise for our quantum ecosystem. 

Two, to strengthen our engineering capabilities in quantum technologies, and translate quantum research into real world solutions.

The Quantum Engineering Programme, which is our translational vehicle for quantum research outcomes, will be enhanced with a new National Quantum Sensor Programme. 

Under this programme, research and industry partners will collaborate to develop solutions in areas such as Position, Navigation and Timing; Biomedical Sensing and Imaging; and Remote Sensing. 

These have a wide range of commercial applications in environmental monitoring, civil engineering, and precision navigation systems.

We will also establish a new National Quantum Processor Initiative to build capabilities in the design and build of quantum processors in Singapore. 

Three, to attract, develop, and retain talent to build a quantum-ready workforce,  

We will establish a National Quantum Scholarship Scheme, to develop a pipeline of 100 PhD and 100 Masters-level graduates over the next five years. 

And even as we grow our own timber, Singapore will continue to remain open to global talent, who can tap on existing schemes like our ONEPass and Tech Pass. 

Four, we aim to build a vibrant quantum industry by developing strong partnerships and nurturing enterprises in Singapore. 

The NQO will lead efforts to catalyse collaboration with industry, using national quantum-related programmes as an anchor. 

For example, the National Quantum Computing Hub will support the translation of quantum R&D into real world solutions in areas like finance, drug discovery and logistics.

These four elements – scientific excellence, engineering capabilities, talent, and innovative enterprises – form an integrated approach in building a quantum ecosystem. 

We welcome like-minded partners from the region and around the world to join us, and collectively harness the next bound of technology for good. 

Using Technology Sustainably

While information-communication technology brings significant benefits, it is energy intensive and contributes to the global climate crisis. 

Today, the tech industry emits an estimated 1.5 to 4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. 

This figure is expected to grow rapidly as the use of AI expands, and as the need for data storage and processing grows.

Data centres lie at the heart of such activities and require large amounts of energy for processing and cooling. 

Greening ICT, especially data centres, is therefore crucial in a digital and carbon-constrained world. 

This is a critical issue for a small city state like Singapore. We are committed to a Net Zero target by 2050. Today, our digital economy contributes to almost one fifth of our GDP. 

As a regional data centre hub, we host a diverse mix of top-tier compute infrastructure to support cloud platforms and enterprise workloads. 

To reduce the carbon footprint of our data centres, we have been working with partners, which include data centre operators, enterprise users and equipment suppliers.

These close partnerships helped us to successfully introduce the world’s first Tropical Data Centre standard last year.

But more needs to be done.

I am therefore pleased to launch our Green Data Centre Roadmap to optimise green energy use, energy efficiency, and compute capacity in Singapore. 

Our goal is to both meet our climate commitments and provide at least 300 megawatts of additional capacity in the near term, or more with green energy deployments.

This will require data centre operators to work with enterprise users to enhance the energy efficiency of hardware and software deployed, and with energy suppliers to scale up the use of green energy. 

This is not easy for Singapore, as we do not have natural alternative sources of energy. 

But we will provide support to data centre operators to adopt updated standards and use green energy. Enterprise end-users can also upgrade to more energy efficient IT equipment with the help of schemes such as the Energy Efficiency Grant. 

To encourage adoption of the Roadmap, IMDA and EDB will allocate new data centre capacity to operators which prioritise both sustainability and economic value. 

The Green Data Centre Roadmap sets out targets and strategies to achieve both our digital economy and climate goals. 

Beyond this, our hope is that this will also catalyse new solutions and opportunities to green data centres in the region and beyond. 

Good Governance

I have spoken about ecosystems to support new tech and using tech sustainably. The third critical issue that I would like to address is how we can have good governance to harness tech for the common good. 

Good governance is crucial. With the right guardrails in place, we create conditions to innovate safely, responsibly, and for a common purpose.

The borderless nature of tech also means this must be a shared endeavour. 

This is why Singapore has always placed emphasis on developing tech governance in an open, inclusive, and consultative style. 

We were the first country in Asia to launch a Model AI Governance Framework in 2019. 

In January this year, we began consulting widely with industry, the research community, and government partners to extend this for the next bound: Generative AI. 

I am pleased to announce today that we are releasing our finalised Model AI Governance Framework for Gen AI. 

At the regional level, we led the development of the ASEAN Guide on AI Governance and Ethics. 

And at the global level, we are working with Rwanda at the UN Forum of Small States (FOSS) to create a Digital FOSS AI Governance Playbook. 

It will be a practical guide for policymakers, to understand and address challenges small states face in safe and trustworthy implementation of AI systems.

These initiatives are part of how we support larger international conversations on AI safety, including by the United Nations Advisory Body on AI. 

By working together, we chart a path for inclusive innovation and progress.   

Let me conclude. In Singapore, we often speak of architecting our digital future. 

We use the term “architect”, because it connotates conscious planning, working with partners, long-term commitment, and steady investments of time and resources. 

The road ahead is promising but also uncertain. Technology will evolve rapidly and bring new challenges.

We should come together as architects of our collective digital future, to harness the power of technology responsibly for the common good. 

I hope that over the next two days, you will find new inspiration and build new partnerships here.

I also hope that you find time outside of the conference to explore the local sights, and to engage with the vibrant tech ecosystem in Singapore. 

I wish you a fruitful conference. Thank you.

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