DPM Gan Kim Yong at the "Trust and AI: Navigating a World in Transition" Leaders Dialogue Fireside Chat

Moderator (Tan Su Shan, Group CEO of DBS): Thank you DPM, that was an encouraging message for us all, and there is a lot for us to digest over lunch. We have collected a lot of different questions, which I will bucket into three themes.

The first theme is for the many here who are investing in Singapore, institutional investors and business investors alike. The question is: why continue to choose Singapore?

The second theme is around AI security. There is a lot of concern around data security, cybersecurity, and AI security broadly.

And the third theme is around workforce and jobs. How do we manage the narrative around that - especially for white-collar workers, many of whom are represented here today?

Shall we start with the question of why choose Singapore? For people who are investing in Singapore, why should they continue to invest in our country? What is in it for them?

DPM Gan Kim Yong: Thank you. the world today is becoming a lot more competitive. The (global) financial hub rankings are one example. We can see that financial centres around the world are competing with one another, and there is no time for us to be complacent. We need to continue to push on. But we can no longer just become one of many financial centres; we have to have our own unique offerings.

And what does Singapore offer? If you look back in history, Singapore has always been a trusted partner: not just in finance, but in business, data management, security, partnerships. Whether in good times or bad, during crises, we are here with you. Just as many of the financial institutions here, who always tell your clients: we are here for you always.

This is also something that Singapore always tell our partners. We are long-term partners, not short-term partners, for good times only. This is very important. This trust is built over decades. It does not happen overnight, and it is strengthened over every crisis. This is something that is not easy for others to replicate, and we will need to continue to deepen this trust between Singapore and our partners. This is something that Singapore can offer which is not easy for others to replicate.

The second factor is what Su Shan mentioned just now - that Singapore is small. Small is beautiful. But small is more than just beautiful - it also means that we can be very nimble. We can move very quickly. We can respond to crises much faster than huge economies, who have many things to worry about, huge machinery to mobilise. But because we are small, we are compact, and we are very efficient and very responsive. We can respond very swiftly, and we have shown that over many crises in the past.

This is something that many businesses value, many investors value. If you come to Singapore and want to register a company, it is much faster than almost anywhere else in the world. If you want a loan, DBS is faster than almost anywhere else in the world.

Moderator: Thank you.

DPM Gan: And many other banks here too. So, we want to be able to be nimble. Not just fast, but thorough at the same time. We need to be able to hold the hands of investors and business partners through the entire journey. What you see is what you get. We work very decisively, responsively, and swiftly. This is how we will make ourselves attractive to potential investors.

Of course, our traditional strengths, such as our connectivity, good infrastructure, and lean and efficient government agencies are all very important. And these factors will continue to be important.

Last, but not least, our workforce is critical. Our workforce is highly skilled, well educated, and they are able to handle high-value work. At the same time, our workforce is also very nimble - they learn and upgrade all the time. That is partly because we have been investing in training and upgrading our workforce consistently over the years. And we continue to push our people to continue to learn, to continue to acquire new skills and knowledge, so that they are ready for the future. That is why we introduced the SkillsFuture system. And we are also very grateful that not only the government, but the workers, the companies, the enterprises are also able to work with us. That is why we have a very strong tripartite relationship, and that again is another very attractive factor for investors who want to invest in Singapore - particularly in today’s world that is fragmented, that is uncertain, that is volatile. These factors matter a lot more than before.

Moderator: Yesterday, you and I went to an event where you were the guest of honour at SMU, where you addressed a group of graduates and undergraduate students. You also spoke about lifelong learning. For all the ‘towkays’ and bosses in the room, there are a lot of lifelong learning courses that employees and colleagues can apply for at our various institutes of higher learning, so that we can quickly relearn new skills through all these programmes.

DPM Gan: I think it is important for us to also shift our mindset about skills upgrading, learning and training.

When I first joined politics 20, 25 years ago, we had a financial crisis during that time. Some jobs were lost, unemployment was rising. So we encouraged our workers to go for training. They would say: when business is good, we have no time to train; when business is not good, we have no time to money. We would tell them, “Don’t worry. When the economy is down, we provide training support. Just go for training.”

Today, even if you say have no time for training, the government will still pay for it, because we do want our workers to continuously train themselves so that they are ready for the future. But we need to shift our mindset a little bit, because training is not done just during crisis. It is not done only when you are out of a job. In fact, training has to be done all the time - whether you are out of a job, whether you have a job, whether you are very busy or very free. Training must be at the back of your minds, and you focus on training all the time.

And it is not just the workers who should focus on training. I think it is also critical for employers to shift their mindsets, to believe in and embrace training as part of your competitive advantage. If your workforce is not upgrading, you will very soon find that you fall behind your competitors. If your competitors continue to train, you should train your people also, make sure that they are ahead of the game, they keep pace with technological developments, and even changing business environments. This way, you will remain competitive and relevant to the global economy.

So I encourage employers who are here to think about adopting and embracing training as part of your core business strategy - not something that you think about only when business is bad or when the market is down. We must train our people all the time. This will be our key advantage.

Moderator: You cannot compromise on training, that’s a key differentiator for our success. We talked about workforce training and here’s a question. Employers are also worried about the impact of AI on entry-level jobs as AI changes the future of work. How can all companies, including the government and GLCs, think about hiring beyond academic results and develop better ways to assess capability, adaptability, creativity, and real-world problem solving - especially for young people taking unconventional paths?

DPM Gan: Thank you. I think we talked about this yesterday with our young graduates and undergraduates - who, while going through their education, are also thinking about: what do I do when I graduate, given that entry-level jobs are changing very quickly?

Moderator: Did you sense a lot of insecurity, or did you think they were still quite confident?

DPM Gan: I think there is this sense of anxiety. This sense of anxiety is not unhealthy; they ought to be aware of the changing environment so that they are prepared for it. I would be concerned if they are complacent and feel that everything is alright - that there will be jobs waiting for them when they graduate. So I think it is good for them to understand that the market is shifting, that they need to change the way they approach their job search to prepare themselves for employment.

That is why yesterday we talked about how can we help our graduates to be more work-ready? Because work, especially entry-level work, is changing all the time. It will be very different from when they enter university to when they graduate. The nature of jobs would have changed.

I think we are also working with institutes of higher learning to prepare them better, including introducing more robust, structured internship and traineeship programmes, so that they are exposed to the working environment, they are kept at the forefront of technological developments, so that they know how the workplace is changing, and also provide them with an opportunity to connect them with their potential employer, their future employer, so that they have a better sense of what the workplace is like, how fast it is changing, so they are better prepared.

And then also encourage employers who are here to offer more traineeship opportunities and internship opportunities, so that you have access to some of these bright graduates and give them a chance to experience the working environment. By the time they graduate and join your company, they would be even more work-ready. This would be the way we help our students, young workers to be more ready for the changes ahead.

Moderator: So they have the domain knowledge earlier rather than later.

DPM Gan: That is right. And not just the knowledge itself, but the sense of direction that work is changing - so that they are prepared for the future. At the same time, I think even the universities and the government, the Ministry of Manpower, are strengthening career support and guidance, so that we hold their hand, guide them along the way, show them the opportunities that are available. This way, we are giving them the assurance that there are opportunities around, but it is important for them to be adaptable, to keep their options open, to try new things - maybe take a path that is less taken, that they are less familiar with. But give it a try, take some risk, and maybe you will discover exciting opportunities are awaiting you.

Moderator: DBS really believes in internships. Yesterday on stage with you, we had a young graduate joining us, and she had not one, not two, but three years of internship with us. By the time she joined us as a full-time employee, she was already up and running and knew what to do quite quickly.

Another question: The Singapore government is promoting AI nationally, and this is executed across all government departments. This may disrupt employment as AI agents may replace people. If there is a huge disruption - an energy failure or a cyber security incident - what is the backup plan? Do we go back to paper for business continuity, since AI agents won’t work if there’s no power?

DPM Gan: I think this question has been at the top of everybody’s minds. This question is not just being asked today. Since the era of electricity, people have been asking the same question: what happens if there is no electricity? Banks were very concerned that ATMs would not work if there is an electricity failure. Now, with digitalisation, our financial institutions are concerned - if the system is disrupted, what do we do?

And so every institution, every company, every enterprise must have a business continuity plan. It is not just the technology system. During COVID-19, all of us remember when the Causeway between Singapore and Malaysia was disconnected because of infection control. Many things stopped. It was not just digital, it was not just technology. It was physical movement that was quite critical for us too.

So I think for companies who have critical systems, you have to think about security, you have to think about continuity. Always have a back-up plan - whether it is going back to paper or whether you have a backup system that kicks in instantaneously. I think this is something that you will need to think about. But for Singapore as a whole, for our energy - we do have our resilience planning, we do have our stockpile of (power) reserves, to ensure that we are able to continue operating until we are able to restore supplies. I think it is something that we will have to constantly think about, replenish - how can we further strengthen our resilience system?

At the same time, we need to bear in mind, there is cost involved. The more you want your system to be resilient, the more costly it will be. So there is a calibration, it is a balance we need to strike. You need to have sufficient resilience to allow you to continue to operate, and at the same time, that is cost-effective enough for you to remain competitive.

Moderator: That’s true - we realise the importance of having alternative pathways for all crucial customer journeys, especially for day-to-day payments. For us, having alternative channels for payments is important - in case one fails, you always have a backup plan.

DPM Gan: If I may add on, energy is a very interesting topic. Yesterday, we just announced that we are going to embark on a study on nuclear readiness. Nuclear is one option being considered. But before this - because we are still completing the study and will need to make an assessment - we have already strengthened our current energy supply system.

I do not know how many of you are aware, that all our power generators in Singapore today are able to run on both natural gas and diesel. And because natural gas cannot be stored for the long-term - it is very volatile, evaporates very quickly - it is not possible to store natural gas over the long-term. The only way for us to be able to stockpile our reserve fuel is to rely on diesel. So we have required our power generators over the last decade to convert to dual-use, so that anytime the gas supply is disrupted, we can switch to diesel. It takes some time for us to switch, but we can continue to operate on diesel. Of course, we have a diesel stockpile - and as to how many days of diesel stockpile we have, I cannot tell you.

Moderator: Here’s another question: Yogi Berra famously said, “The future ain’t what it used to be.” Singapore’s position of trust, safety, and connectedness will help us in navigating the future. Are there countries or corridors looking to partner with Singapore to capture AI leadership? For example, India could develop a new AI solution, get Singapore’s seal of AI trust and safety, and then go out to global markets. So we’re a good test bed. How do you see us positioning ourselves as a trusted international standards hub?

DPM Gan: Thank you very much. I think first and foremost, I should emphasise that we welcome competition. I think competition will make us better. And therefore, we are happy that if any other country wants to compete for AI leadership, we are very happy to work with them, to partner them, to work together, to succeed together, to make progress together. Competition is not a zero-sum game. Eventually, if you have healthy competition, it can be win-win for both competitors. So we are happy to partner any country in this area to build up our AI capability.

In addition, what is also very critical is AI talent. Because we will never be able to have enough AI talent from our own population - we are a very small population, and the world is so big, and AI is moving so quickly. We need to make sure that we have access to global AI talent. And even global AI talent, we will not be able to have all of them housed in Singapore because we are a small island. So we must look for ways to tap on global AI talent who are not based in Singapore. Those who are able to come to Singapore and partner us - we welcome them. Those who are not in Singapore - we welcome partnerships with them wherever they are.

So, I think AI and digital technology allow us to have cross-border collaborations and partnerships. For countries who wish to partner with us, we are happy to explore different ways of partnerships among our member countries, our various partners. And even within ASEAN, we are now negotiating a Digital Economy Framework Agreement - many of you will be aware of it. We are close to finalising it, and we hope to be able to sign it this year.

And beyond the Digital Economy Framework Agreement, the next step is to think about how can we cooperate among ASEAN members to develop AI systems jointly, to help each other, to leverage each other’s strength, to level up AI capability within ASEAN? So, I think this is the arena for cooperation and collaboration, especially in AI capability development.

Moderator: I’m going to combine two questions into one, because there are a lot of SMEs in the room. With the fast-changing AI landscape and high implementation costs for SMEs, they have to balance the risk of moving too early or run the risk of falling behind. Some of the things they do today could become obsolete tomorrow. The question is: should they just wait for the tech to become more mature?

And another along similar lines - SMEs are running AI pilots themselves but scaling across an industry is much harder. How can the government help companies like these by creating a shared framework of capabilities or standards, so that industries can work together, rather than each figuring it out on their own?

DPM Gan: Very good questions. In fact, the government is quite mindful of this challenge, because AI is very complex and can be very costly. And at the initial stages of AI development, there is no guarantee it will succeed. But if we wait for assurance of success before we embark on it, it will be too late.

We encourage companies to embark on this journey in partnership with the government. And that is why we have developed several Centres of Excellence - both at the company level as well as the sectoral level. One example is the Centre of Excellence for AI in manufacturing. In recognition of the fact that manufacturers will find adoption of AI very prohibitive - they do not know what to do to start with, they do not have the technology, they do not have the know-how. And to adopt it, it may be very costly for them, especially for SMEs. That is why we have set up a national Centre of Excellence for AI in the manufacturing sector, so that SMEs in this sector will be able to tap on the national capacity - whether it is compute capacity, whether it is expertise, consultants, knowledge partners, it is there. So that you are able to tap on these resources to experiment, to try out the adoption of AI solutions in your company. Once it is successful, once you have gained the confidence, you will then be able to embark on your own, and if you are able to develop your own Centre of Excellence, we are happy for you to continue on your own. This is one way for us to help you kickstart your AI journey.

And for companies who are more ready to embark on AI, we are also partnering you to develop your own in-house AI Centre of Excellence. Some of our banks have already set up your own internal Centres of Excellence. And we encourage these companies who have your own Centres of Excellence to open up your Centres - to your clients, to your suppliers, to your partners, to your whole ecosystem - because if you are able to  level up the AI capability in your whole ecosystem, eventually you can benefit as well. So we hope to leverage each other’s strengths and capability\ies to uplift our AI capabilities.

And we are also looking at the possibility of identifying major AI leaders - champions of AI, as we call them. We hope to identify a few companies who are willing to adopt AI from end to end, to transform their business models to be built on AI. We hope that these leaders and champions of AI will be pathfinders, to show by example how AI can impact businesses, can help and enhance business competitiveness. This way, we hope that SMEs will be able to follow suit and follow the pathway that is created by these champions of AI.

And in order for us to support many of these efforts, we are also developing an AI Park, to bring together and create an ecosystem.

Moderator: Is this the AI Park in Punggol?

DPM Gan: Punggol is one hub, but the AI Park is in one-north. I think we have identified a location for the AI Park to be built. And this will bring together all the AI practitioners, researchers, and even those with AI problems looking for solutions. I think this will create a community of practitioners and create synergy among the AI community. This will be able to help many SMEs who need AI resources. So I think these are our efforts to help SMEs embark on this AI journey. Punggol is known to be the digital district, so it is known to be one of the key components in the entire AI ecosystem.

Moderator: It looks like you’re looking at end-to-end - from talent, startups, capital, hubs, industry know-how. And don’t forget DBS - we have our Spark GenAI programme for SMEs, so do speak to your RM and we’ll be delighted to help you.

So, with that, DPM - this has been a real tour de force. Thank you very much. I think our clients very much appreciate that you spent this time with us, and it gives us comfort that we are on this journey together. We will create the ecosystem together and make Singapore the best AI hub in the world - hopefully sometime soon. Please join me in thanking DPM.