At a recent industry innovation conference in Singapore, Minister Josephine Teo highlighted Singapore’s progress in artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and outlined the importance of cultivating “bilingual AI talents” who combine deep domain expertise, skills, knowledge, adaptability and AI fluency. (opengovasia.com)
AI has advanced rapidly since Singapore launched its first National AI Strategy (NAIS) in 2019, followed by NAIS 2.0 in 2023. Minister Teo noted that industry adoption has been encouraging, with major players leading the way through collaborations with a variety of partners and participation in the MERaLiON Consortium to develop sector-specific AI applications.
The government has also expanded support significantly. The SG$150 million Enterprise Compute Initiative (ECI), introduced in Budget 2025, is helping enterprises gain access to cloud credits, compute power, AI tools and consultancy services. At the leadership level, programmes like “GenAI for Digital Leaders”, developed with industry collaboration, are equipping business leaders with the knowledge to integrate AI into their organisations.
More than 40 companies in Singapore have since established AI Centres of Excellence. These centres demonstrate the critical role of cross-disciplinary collaboration, where AI practitioners work closely with engineers, technicians and specialists to translate data insights into practical business improvements.
This culture of collaboration reflects a national commitment to ensuring AI adoption is not isolated to a small group of experts but embedded into every industry, workplace and daily activity across Singapore. It also signals a shared determination to prepare the next generation of workers, ensuring they are confident, capable and adaptable in an AI-driven economy.
Minister Teo emphasised the concept of “bilingual AI talents”, individuals who possess deep expertise in their own fields, their “mother tongue” and are simultaneously learning to work fluently with AI systems. She cited examples such as a private firm’s AI-assisted quality assurance in gaming, which halves the time required for bug testing and another company’s space engineers who are using AI to optimise satellite design.
Such collaborations, she said, show how domain experts can harness AI to achieve breakthroughs that would not be possible otherwise. They also highlight the growing importance of integrating practical industry knowledge with technological innovation.
Public interest in AI is also strong. Singapore ranks among the highest globally in ChatGPT usage, which Minister Teo described as an early step in “listening to AI.” However, she stressed that true fluency requires “speaking” the language of AI – practising with the tools, learning through mistakes and embedding AI into daily work.
The upcoming 2025 edition of the Singapore Digital Economy Report will show that three in four workers already use AI tools regularly, with 85% reporting gains in efficiency, productivity, innovation and work quality.
To build on this momentum, the government is broadening AI training and adoption through partnerships with technology vendors, expansion of TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) programmes and collaborations with Institutes of Higher Learning to create pathways for advanced AI skills development.
Businesses are also nurturing talent. Minister Teo highlighted the example of a young professional whose expertise in AI and cybersecurity has grown through collaborations with leading universities and who is now pursuing a PhD in AI Security under the EDB’s Industrial Postgraduate Programme.
One major enterprise is systematically equipping 4,000 engineers and project managers with AI-related skills, complementing its 1,000 AI specialists. Minister Teo praised these efforts, noting that such large-scale capability-building not only embeds AI across operations but also creates a community of practitioners who can “speak the language” together.
Minister Teo likened AI fluency to Singapore’s past experience of learning the “languages” of computers, the internet and mobile technologies. With strong commitment from government, industry and individuals, Singapore is now positioning itself to master the language of AI and build a future-ready workforce.
