Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan participates in World Economic Forum's Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution virtual meeting

Joined Advisory Board members, government and industry counterparts of the World Economic Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (WEF C4IR) in a virtual meeting last night. COVID-19 was naturally on everyone’s minds, and we discussed what technology might look like in a post-COVID-19 world.

I shared the need for coordinated global action, including ramping up COVID-19 testing and vaccine production capacity to overcome the health and economic disruption brought about by the pandemic. Effective public health response, including contact tracing, is first and foremost premised on trust in health authorities and governments. These can be aided, but not replaced, by technology.

We also discussed the various technologies that the WEF C4IR will be focusing on this year. AI, data, and Smart City tech continue to be important topics, with frontier tech like space tech and synthetic biology gaining prominence. I am glad that many countries have found Singapore’s Model AI Governance Framework, which we had worked with the WEF C4IR on, to be helpful.

Looking forward to tonight’s WEF Global AI Council Meeting, where we will continue the discussion on AI, and how international communities can work together to make the best use of this powerful technology responsibly.

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