The Republic of Singapore has liberated its Model Artificial Intelligence Governance Framework which was announced by Minister for Communications and Information, Mr. S Iswaran at World Economic Forum Annual Meeting held between 22-25 January 2019. The scheme was out for public consultation, pilot adoption, and feedback.

The architecture of the framework is laid on the foundation of detailed guidelines presented by a paper released in June last year by Singapore's Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) and Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).

It is Asia's first comprehensive plan to serve readily implementable guidance to private sectors employing AI.

Mr. Iswaran considering AI as the future, said "This is the future. It has the potential to affect many sectors in a very profound way and we want to make sure Singapore is prepared for that."

Protocols for the Organizations Embracing AI

Ground rules of the framework instruct the private enterprises on how to lodge ethical governance measure while using AI solutions. Its objective is to adapt to high geared technological changes thriving in the ecosystem and are likely to flourish further in digital space.

Out of the comprehensive structure, below are the two major guidelines of the framework:

•  AI solutions should focus on human skills and activities first and use automated functions to support them which in other words means it should be human-centric.

•  AI-powered decisions should be explainable, transparent and consumer friendly.

These protocols will surely yield faith and understanding of AI and make it more evident that AI-powered decisions are beneficial for users. The Model Guidelines points out the ethical practices that are applicable on ordinary AI distribution processes in four areas including – Internal governance structures and measures and management of risk in autonomous decision making, carry out operations and customer-relationship.

"The Model Framework provides practical guidance to organizations deploying AI at scale to do so with good internal governance and in an ethical manner. The Advisory Council encourages businesses to pilot the Model Framework and provide feedback from their implementation experience. We look forward to reviewing the comments from the public consultation and proposing improvements in the next edition", said Mr. V K Rajah S C, Chairman of the Advisory Council on the Humane Use of AI and Data.

Teamwork to Lead the Framework of AI and Data-Driven Innovation

The country has declared an alliance with the World Economic Forum's Centre for Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) to drive the technological innovation. The agreement between Singapore and WEF was authorized by the signature of IMDA, the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office.

"Singapore is focused on innovation and technology. As the country develops forward-looking technology policies, we welcome them as a partner of the Centre Network. We are looking forward to their contribution to our network for global technology governance", said Mr. Murat Sonmez, Managing Director, Head of the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Network.

Constructing the Future of Private Organizations on the Framework

When asked about the problem of lack of attraction for private sector organizations in setting up base in Singapore due to this particular framework, Mr. Iswaran asserted "The key point to note is that this is a framework. It is not a rule or a regulation. This is basically an outcome from industry consultation that we have had. So in a way, the industry has already helped shape this."

Singapore Government's Media Development Authority, IMDA also quoted "Singapore aims to advance its vision to be a leading Digital Economy and Smart Nation, continually embracing digital transformation and reinventing itself to remain globally competitive. The Model Framework is part of Singapore's efforts to do so through investing and building capabilities in AI."