The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and National Research Foundation Singapore (NRF) will invest $50 million over the next five years to develop Singapore’s digital trust capabilities.
The commitment was announced by Singapore Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo at the ATxAI Conference during Asia Tech x Singapore (ATxSG) on July 14.
“This initiative will bring together industry players, research institutions, and institutes of higher learning to drive research and translation, in technologies that support digital trust principles such as safety, transparency, and accountability. This will provide businesses and consumers with greater assurance and confidence as they digitalise,” says Teo.
Efforts will be focused on addressing industry needs and unlocking new opportunities enabled by emerging digital trust technologies. Key areas of focus will include privacy-preserving technologies; technologies that address emerging areas in decentralised identity and verification; and testing and assurance.
“Singapore believes in a balanced and collaborative approach to AI governance – one that can interoperate with other international AI governance approaches. To this end, Singapore actively engages in multilateral discussions at international platforms such as UNESCO, OECD and Global Partnership on AI. Through such partnerships, we hope to build trust in the digital domain at a global level,” says Teo.
Speaking as the Guest-of-Honour at the ATxAI Conference, Teo emphasised the importance of a collaborative approach in building a trusted digital environment for the deployment and adoption of digital technologies.
Teo’s announcement follows Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat’s address at the ATxSG summit event on July 13, where he launched the Singapore Trade Data Exchange (SGTraDex).
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It was also unveiled that IMDA and NRF will invest close to $70 million under the Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) plan to launch the first national Future Communications Research & Development Programme (FCP).
Photo: Bloomberg