Singapore wins international award for AI governance and ethics initiatives

• Initiatives aim to build an ecosystem of trust to support AI adoption
• Advance Singapore’s vision to be a leading digital economy and smart nation

SINGAPORE announced that its work in Artificial Intelligence (AI) Governance and Ethics has won a top award at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Prizes.

The winners of the 18 categories2 of the WSIS Prizes were announced on April 9 during an award ceremony at the annual WSIS Forum held in Geneva, Switzerland. Singapore won in the “Ethical Dimensions of the Information Society” category, beating four other finalists across the globe.

The WSIS Prizes recognise outstanding digital projects globally, which foster socioeconomic development across categories such as e-government, e-environment, e-science and media, and ethics in IT.

Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) assistant chief executive (Data Protection and Innovation) Yeong Zee Kin received the prize at the ceremony in Geneva.

Singapore’s AI Governance and Ethics initiatives aim to build an ecosystem of trust to support AI adoption.

These include:

1. Asia’s first model AI governance framework released in January 2019;
2. An international and industry-led advisory council on the ethical use of AI and data formed in June 2018; and
3. A research programme on the governance of AI and data use established in partnership with the Singapore Management University in September 2018.

These initiatives advance Singapore’s vision to be a leading digital economy and smart nation through balancing business innovation and consumer trust and confidence in adopting AI.

Minister for Communications and Information S Iswaran said, “Singapore’s win of the WSIS Award is affirmation of our approach that AI practices must be transparent, explainable and fair. These are important principles that will guide businesses in implementing AI solutions that are human-centric, while spurring innovation in a digital economy.”

V K Rajah SC, chairman of the Advisory Council on the Ethical Use of AI and Data congratulated the win.

He said, “The Advisory Council congratulates Singapore’s win. This award affirms Singapore’s balanced and pragmatic approach towards AI governance. We look forward to working further with the Singapore Government in forming strong guidance which enable innovation while protecting consumer interests.”