We wish to applaud the Singapore Government for their uncompromising stand in their push to make the city state a model Smart Nation. In a recent interview in San Francisco, Vivian Balakrishnan, the Singapore minister tasked with transforming the city state into a Smart Nation said that the city state cannot go back to pen and paper and recent data breaches won’t hold back Singapore’s efforts in testing and investing in the latest technology.
Unlike most nations whose response to breaches are to introduce more stringent regulations etc., the Minister's assurance that the government’s response to these cybersecurity attacks and human leaks will be one where it’s completely open, along with corrective measures it would take was indeed very refreshing and an approach taken with the recognition that cyber attacks are not static and it is constantly evolving.
One of the key takes from his interview was that Singapore intends to commoditised its strengths in AI by first training its workforce with AI capabilities, starting with civil servants.
With such commitment, Singapore will definitely lead in human development on skill sets for the future for years to come. Way to go!