Anti-AI sentiments by S'porean workers, students mustn't be ignored: Jasmin Lau

The range of concerns about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) should not be ignored, said Acting Minister for Manpower and Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Jasmin Lau on Sep. 17.

Speaking at the launch of SG AI Xchange, a new forum for companies to swap notes on their AI adoption journeys, Lau devoted part of her opening address to the "groundswell of workers and younger students who are somewhat anti-AI".

The fourth group

"They fear how it will be taking away many of their jobs and aspirations," said Lau. "They also conflate what AI can do with the environmental damage that they are seeing around the world."

Rather than brush off these concerns, Lau said they're genuine and shouldn't be dismissed.

She explained that more needs to be done to keep Singapore society united, from employers and business leaders to workers and anxious students.

"Everybody has a different view of how AI should or should not be used. Everybody has a different view of how fast or slow the pace ought to be. I think in Singapore, we do realise that the world is changing, and we want to make sure that AI in Singapore is adopted widely enough to create real value for our companies and good jobs for our workers."

Quiet doesn't mean okay

Lau also reminded business leaders that a silent workforce isn't necessarily a content one.

"Don't take a quiet workforce for an agreeable workforce," she said.

"The fact that they are quiet and not pushing back yet doesn't always mean that they are happy with where things are going. They want to know what their business leaders are really thinking, whether you are already planning retrenchments and slowdown in hiring."

Her ask: more transparency, even when the news isn't good.

Employers should tell workers if automation plans are in the pipeline, along with what retraining might look like, she said, adding that communication and transparency keep workers and companies together.

What SG AI Xchange is meant to fix

In her speech, Lau credited GlobalFoundries as a "very strong supporter" of Singapore's Economic Strategy Review work.

The company shared about its experience in scaling AI in the manufacturing sector at the forum. This example was one of the benefits that SG AI Xchange brings to the table, said Lau.

"That is not a common culture because we tend to be quite shy about where we have not done well and reserved about sharing our secrets with each other," she said, adding that there's "a lot of value in naming what you were trying to solve, what proved difficult, what you had to change mid-course, and what you needed to do differently."

The bigger picture

Lau also gave a broader update on Singapore's AI push, adding that there are now close to 100 AI Centres of Excellence spanning sectors from finance to manufacturing.

Centres of Excellence are dedicated teams that focus on AI development and deployment to support business goals.

She also cited recent high-profile tech movements, including Google Cloud's new Singapore Engineering Centre, Anthropic's entry into the country, and Databricks' local AI skills efforts.

She also urged companies not to hold back on hiring young graduates over uncertainty about how AI might reshape jobs, urging employers to bring them onboard, give them training and exposure, and trust that roles will evolve alongside the technology.