Singapore’s AI ambitions get a boost with $740 million investment plan
The Singapore River and Merlion Park in the evening
Photography By Bobi | Moment Open | Getty Images
SINGAPORE — Singapore’s plan to invest more than $743 million into artificial intelligence over the next five years could strengthen its position as a global business and innovation hub, tech executives said.
In his Budget speech on Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said Singapore will invest more than 1 billion Singapore dollars over the next five years to further boost the country’s AI capabilities.
“Surprisingly, nearly three-quarters of business leaders globally are ill-equipped for AI transformation, believing their preparations are limited by time, people, and money,” said Nithin Chandra, managing partner of Southeast Asia at Kearney, a global management consulting firm.
“This initiative will help ensure that businesses can capitalize on the opportunities afforded by technological advancements and capture new opportunities,” said Chandra.
As part of the investment, Singapore will work to ensure it can secure access to the advanced chips “that are so crucial to AI development and deployment,” Wong said.
Singapore will also work with leading companies here and around the world to set up AI centers of excellence to spur innovation, he added.
“This will incentivize companies to adopt AI solutions, prioritize AI skills to keep their workforce competitive, and encourage strategic partnerships and knowledge sharing across the industry, thus spurring overall innovation,” said Jonathon Dixon, vice president and managing director of APAC at Cloudflare, a global cloud services provider.
Singapore workers are already the world’s fastest when it comes to adopting AI skills, according to LinkedIn’s Future of Work report released in August.
“The increased focus and investment in AI capabilities, talent, and industry development is also exciting and important for Singapore to strengthen its position as a business and innovation hub,” said Mao Gen Foo, head of Southeast Asia at American experience management company Qualtrics.
Singapore was among the first countries to publish an AI plan in 2019. In December, the Southeast Asian nation launched the National AI Strategy 2.0 — an updated version of its AI initiatives, outlining ways to prepare the economy to harness and utilize AI to empower workers and businesses.
“Sustaining focus on AI and [machine learning] will ensure Singapore’s prominence in technological advancements, strengthening its position as an attractive hub for businesses and talent in an increasingly digitalized global landscape,” said Pannie Sia, general manager of ASEAN at Workday, an American finance and human resources software vendor.
Singapore has “very high” potential as a global AI hub because of an environment that spurs innovation, Google Cloud executive Caroline Yap told CNBC in an earlier interview.
AI governance
To promote the responsible use of AI, Singapore rolled out AI Verify in May 2022 – the world’s first AI governance testing framework and software toolkit for companies. The tool allows users to conduct technical tests on their AI models and record process checks.
Google, Meta and Microsoft are among companies that have already tested the AI Verify tool or provided feedback.
As AI adoption grows, consumers must be reassured that their data is safe, and that technology is being used for good.
Sujith Abraham
senior vice president and GM of ASEAN, Salesforce
“The SG$1 billion allocation towards AI which also includes secure implementation of the National AI Strategy 2.0 demonstrates the government’s commitment towards fostering a trusted and responsible AI eecosystem,” said Sujith Abraham, senior vice president and general manager of ASEAN at Salesforce.
“As AI adoption grows, consumers must be reassured that their data is safe, and that technology is being used for good,” said Abraham.
Beata Zawrzel | Nurphoto | Getty Images
TikTok said its services will go dark on Sunday without a guarantee from the Biden administration that it won’t punish Apple, Google and other service providers if they support the app.
“Unless the Biden Administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement, unfortunately TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19,” TikTok said in a statement on Friday.
The statement indicates that TikTok’s American users base, which the company claims is over 170 million, will not be able to use the service when they open the app or website on Sunday.
TikTok issued the statement after the Supreme Court on Friday ruled unanimously to uphold a law requiring that service providers no longer support its app within the U.S. if parent company ByteDance fails to carry out a “qualified divestiture” of the app by Sunday. As a result, Apple, Google and Oracle could face tough penalties if they fail to adhere to the law.
“The statements issued today by both the Biden White House and the Department of Justice have failed to provide the necessary clarity and assurance to the service providers that are integral to maintaining TikTok’s availability to over 170 million Americans,” TikTok said in its statement.
However, Biden’s term ends on Monday, when President-elect Donald Trump begins his second term in the White House. Trump, who previously supported a TikTok ban, later flip-flopped on the matter. In December, Trump asked the Supreme Court to pause the law’s implementation and allow his administration “the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case.”
In a Friday post on his social media app Truth Social, Trump wrote, “My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!”
Earlier Friday, the Biden administration issued a statement saying TikTok “should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership.”
“Given the sheer fact of timing, this Administration recognizes that actions to implement the law simply must fall to the next Administration, which takes office on Monday,” the statement said.
Attorney General Merrick Garland and Lisa Monaco, his deputy, said in a release that the decision “enables the Justice Department to prevent the Chinese government from weaponizing TikTok to undermine America’s national security.”
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Jaap Arriens | Nurphoto | Getty Images
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the law requiring China-based ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok by Sunday or face an effective ban of the popular social video app in the U.S.
ByteDance has so far refused to sell TikTok, meaning many U.S. users could lose access to the app this weekend. The app may still work for those who already have TikTok on their phones, although ByteDance has also threatened to shut the app down.
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration, upholding the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which President Joe Biden signed in April.
“There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community,” the Supreme Court’s opinion said. “But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”
Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch wrote concurrences.
TikTok’s fate in the U.S. now lies in the hands of President-elect Donald Trump, who originally favored a TikTok ban during his first administration, but has since flip-flopped on the matter. In December, Trump asked the Supreme Court to pause the law’s implementation and allow his administration “the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case.”
In a post on his social media app Truth Social, Trump wrote that the decision was expected “and everyone must respect it.”
“My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!” Trump wrote.
Trump began to speak more favorably of TikTok after he met in February with billionaire Republican megadonor Jeff Yass. Yass is a major ByteDance investor who also owns a stake in the owner of Truth Social.
Trump will be inaugurated Monday, one day after the TikTok deadline for a sale. TikTok CEO Shou Chew is one of several tech leaders expected to be in attendance, seated on the dais.
In a video posted on TikTok, Chew thanked Trump “for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available” in the U.S. He said use of TikTok is a First Amendment right, adding that over 7 million American businesses use it to make money and find customers.
“Rest assured, we will do everything in our power to ensure our platform thrives as your online home for limitless creativity and discovery as well as a source of inspiration and joy for years to come,” he said.
The nation’s highest court said in the opinion that while “data collection and analysis is a common practice in this digital age,” the sheer size of TikTok and its “susceptibility to foreign adversary control, together with the vast swaths of sensitive data the platform collects” poses a national security concern.
Under the terms of the law, third-party internet service providers such as Apple and Google will be penalized for supporting a ByteDance-owned TikTok after the Jan. 19 deadline.
If service providers and app store owners comply, consumers will be unable to install the necessary updates that make the app functional.
Representatives of TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Users look for alternatives
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated Biden’s support for the law in a statement, saying “TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law.”
“Given the sheer fact of timing, this Administration recognizes that actions to implement the law simply must fall to the next Administration, which takes office on Monday,” Pierre said.
Attorney General Merrick Garland and Lisa Monaco, his deputy, said in a release that the decision “enables the Justice Department to prevent the Chinese government from weaponizing TikTok to undermine America’s national security.”
Kate Ruane, the director of the Center for Democracy and Technology nonprofit, criticized the ruling, saying in a statement that it “harms the free expression of hundreds of millions of TikTok users in this country and around the world.”
In December, members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party sent letters to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, urging the executives to begin preparing to comply with the law.
Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok, speaks to reporters outside the office of Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) at the Russell Senate Office Building on March 14, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images
On Jan. 10, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments from lawyers representing TikTok, content creators and the U.S. government. TikTok’s lead lawyer, Noel Francisco, argued that the law violates the First Amendment rights of the app’s 170 million American users. U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued that the app’s alleged ties to the Chinese government pose a national security threat.
Many TikTok creators have been telling their fans to find them on competing social platforms such as Google’s YouTube and Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, CNBC reported. Additionally, Instagram leaders scheduled meetings after the Jan. 10 Supreme Court hearing to direct workers to prepare for a wave of users if the court upholds the law.
Chinese social media app and TikTok look-alike RedNote rose to the top of Apple’s app store Monday, indicating that TikTok’s millions of users were seeking alternatives.
The Chinese government also weighed a contingency plan that would have X owner Elon Musk acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations as part of several options intended to keep the app from its effective ban in the U.S., Bloomberg News reported Monday.
Should ByteDance decide to sell TikTok to a U.S. company or group of investors, potential buyers may have to pay between $40 billion and $50 billion, according to an estimate by CFRA Research Senior Vice President Angelo Zino.
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