Speech by SMS Tan Kiat How at the Data and AI World Tour Singapore

Speech by Mr Tan Kiat How, Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information at the Data + AI World Tour Singapore on 30 August 2024

Mr Ed Lenta, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Asia Pacific and Japan,

Ms Cecily Ng, Vice President and General Manager of ASEAN and Greater China,

Mr Nick Eayrs, Vice President of Field Engineering, Asia Pacific and Japan,

Ladies and Gentlemen

1. Good morning and thank you for your invitation to Databricks' Data + AI World Tour Singapore.

2. I am glad that you have chosen Singapore to be one of the stops on your World Tour. I must add that we welcome all World Tours to Singapore.

3. Over the past year, we have seen how the conversation on AI has shifted from hype and excitement to a more grounded and sharper focus on how organisations and individuals can benefit from AI and GenAI.

   a. Interestingly, the most popular uses of AI amongst individuals involve streamlining daily tasks such as responding to messages, planning travel itineraries and even curating social media posts.

   b. We have also seen a rise in the number of workers across industries - from education to law - using AI technology to automate their workflows to save time and boost productivity. Microsoft and LinkedIn reported that usage of Generative AI tools in the workplace had almost doubled in a span of 6 months.

4. Beyond an individual level, AI also brings value to enterprises by automating routine tasks and streamlining complex processes. This allows businesses to allocate resources more effectively, thereby improving productivity and efficiency.

   a. A 2024 Forbes Adviser survey found that around 40% of companies utilise AI for data aggregation and 38% leverage AI for idea generation. These highlight how AI can be used to not just optimise business operations and tasks but innovate and stay ahead of the competition.

   b. Businesses also expect AI to improve customer relationships and drive sales growth. In Sales and Marketing, for example, AI algorithms have been shown to provide better insights on customer behaviour, leading to an increase in sales leads by 50% and cost reductions of up to 60%.

5. The Singapore Government recognises the positive and potentially disruptive impact that AI brings to our enterprises and has encouraged our companies, particularly Small and Medium Enterprises, or SMEs to adopt the technology. They are an important set of stakeholders. In Singapore, SMEs account for about 99% of all business, about 70% of all jobs and around 50% of GDP. They are a vital component of the economy. Getting more SMEs to adopt AI will enable the benefits of the technology to be more broad-based, uplift companies and improve the welfare and opportunities for workers.

6. However, compared to larger organisations, SMEs typically often lack the resources and capabilities to incorporate AI tools into their business processes. We recognise that SMEs may need a little more support.

7. That is why earlier in June this year, MDDI launched the Digital Enterprise Blueprint to set out the next bound of digitalisation for our enterprises. One of the focus areas outlined in this Blueprint is to empower our SMEs to be "Be Smarter". This includes catalysing the adoption of emerging technologies, especially AI-enabled solutions, to equip SMEs to improve their productivity and innovate.

   a. For instance, IMDA's SMEs Go Digital initiative is committed to raise the AI capabilities of the pre-approved solution providers. SMEs that adopt solutions under this initiative will be able to benefit from ready-to-use and affordable AI-enabled solutions. The Government provides up to 70% funding support to SMEs adopting these solutions under this programme.

   b. At the sector level, we have launched 22 Industry Digital Plans, or IDPs, across a wide range of sectors that point SMEs to the recommended digital solutions to adopt at different stages of their growth. There's something for every SME in different industries, ranging from SMEs just starting out to those that are more matured. These IDPs are progressively being refreshed to incorporate sector-specific AI solutions.

8. These initiatives help make AI tools more accessible by providing resources, funding and pathways to the broad base of enterprises.

9. We also recognise that high quality data is the foundation of any effective AI system. Without accurate, consistent, and well-organised data, AI algorithms cannot learn properly or generate meaningful insights. This can lead to flawed analyses and poor decision-making.

10. A 2024 Forbes report highlighted that one of the main barriers to AI adoption is the challenge of dealing with inaccurate and inaccessible data. There is also a lack of know-how regarding collecting, storing, and utilising data.

11. I'm pleased that Databricks is in Singapore and has a strong presence here. Databricks plays an important role in helping companies resolve critical issues such as ensuring data privacy, managing control issues and overcoming data silos.

    a. For example, Grab, an app that most of us are familiar with, initially had all of their data spread across different product teams and being used for different functions. Using Databricks' Data Intelligence Platform, Grab developed an in-house solution, the C360, to make it easier for employees to access consumer data and insights from one place.

    b. C360 also enabled Grab to train their AI tools with holistic customer data, improving their ability to predict consumer needs and make in-app recommendations, and in turn, enhancing their user experience.

    c. Let me give you another example. GetGo, a mobility service provider, struggled to implement AI and machine learning tools as their legacy data environment was not able to support data from multiple sources. They chose to tap on Databricks' Warehouse and Unity Catalog to refresh their data management and governance process. This now allows them to use tools like AI to improve their operational efficiency and market effectiveness. For instance, they now use AI to match customers with vehicles, provide predictive maintenance alerts and reduce fraudulent activity.

12. There are many more examples out there - including Standard Chartered Bank, GovTech, AI Singapore to name a few, which illustrate that companies like Databricks are critical enablers in our AI industry development efforts.

13. I am therefore excited to announce that Databricks will be locating its regional headquarters here in Singapore. The company will expand its local presence across roles such as sales, marketing, field engineers, strategy, data and AI professionals here. Databricks has also committed to hiring more senior leaders based out of Singapore for their regional roles. The company is in discussions with EDB and will share more details in due time.

14. Databrick's decision to locate their regional HQ in Singapore reflects the advantages that Singapore offers as a hub for Southeast Asia. Many businesses recognise Singapore's strengths in our digital and logistics connectivity, skilled workforce, vibrant innovation and start-up ecosystem. These are further enhanced by our policies that support businesses' entry into Singapore, transparent regulatory practices, and a reputation for stability and neutrality. These are important assets that we continue to safeguard and invest in to make sure that we are relevant to companies, and people around the world who want to be part of our ecosystem.

15. In addition, our refreshed National AI Strategy 2.0 reinforces the Government's commitment to advancing the development of AI and fostering a vibrant AI ecosystem that would attract innovative companies like Databricks.

16. We believe that Databricks would be a valuable addition to our technological landscape and that their presence here will help us meet our AI ambitions.

17. While we welcome and encourage adoption of AI for our businesses, we also need to remember that our workers are the core of our businesses.

18. In the recent National Day Rally, PM Wong spoke about the importance of building up our skills to stay competitive. In the face of rapidly changing industries and workplaces, PM Wong shared, and I quote, that "to adapt to this churn, we must all embrace lifelong learning".

19. For our tech workers, there are many exciting opportunities. We must continue to reskill and upgrade ourselves to seize these opportunities and remain relevant. We have introduced various avenues for our workforce to be trained, upskilled and reskilled to remain adaptable.

    a. IMDA's TechSkills Accelerator, for instance, supports our workers' transition into tech roles and ensures that our existing tech workforce remains equipped with relevant skills. Under TeSA, we have seen over 17,000 locals being placed in tech roles and over 231,000 professionals being upskilled and reskilled.

    b. Our training partners under the Information & Communications Jobs Transformation Map also offer around 200 AI-related courses for workers looking to upskill themselves. As of December last year, over 1,600 people have been trained to be confident users of AI.

20. Since the launch of our refreshed National AI Strategy last year, we have seen many industry partners stepping up to offer training initiatives and courses to build up our pool of AI Practitioners and AI Users. I encourage you to make full use of these resources and to do so quickly.

21. Databricks is a good example. To date, Databricks has trained more than 3,000 data and AI professionals in Singapore, significantly contributing to the development of our local talent pool.

22. As a signal of their commitment to build up the local workforce, I am pleased to announce that Databricks will partner NTUC LearningHub and NUS ICT Academy on a new training programme.

    a. Workers can look forward to courses to improve their understanding of data and AI, and learn how to better use Databricks tools and services.

    b. With this collaboration, Databricks aims to train over 10,000 people in advanced data and AI skills over the next 3 years.

23. Such initiatives help to create new upskilling and reskilling opportunities for our workers and build this culture of lifelong learning in our ecosystem.

24. I thank Databricks for your commitment to advancing our digital economy and our workers here, especially in AI. I wish you success and together, I believe that we can continue to foster this culture of innovation and learning, and ultimately build Singapore up as a global hub for technology and innovation, supporting industries, sectors, companies and workers, here in Singapore and beyond.

25. Thank you.