The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and National Research Foundation Singapore (NRF) are investing S$50 million over the next five years in the development of Singapore’s digital trust capabilities.
Josephine Teo, Singapore Minister for Communications and Information, said this investment will allow the country to tap on new possibilities and demands arising from a global digital trust market that is expected to grow exponentially.
To enable this, IMDA will bring together research institutions, institutes of higher learning, and the industry, to drive research and translation in trust technologies.
Efforts will be focused on addressing industry needs and unlocking new opportunities enabled by emerging digital trust technologies, and some key areas of focus including privacy-preserving technologies, which enable organisations to gain insights from data while keeping the information and source protected.
Also covered are technologies that address emerging areas in decentralised identity and verification, allowing us to build future-ready capabilities for the next iteration of the internet.
Included further is focus on testing and assurance, to provide confidence that digital technologies are safe and trustworthy, and allow consumers and stakeholders to transact with peace of mind.
“Singapore believes in a balanced and collaborative approach to AI governance – one that can interoperate with other international AI governance approaches,” said Teo. “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.”
Teo made the announcement during the on July 14 during the ATxAI Conference organised by IMDA, Personal Data Protection Commission, and the National University of Singapore.
She emphasised the importance of a collaborative approach in building a trusted digital environment for the deployment and adoption of digital technologies, and provided insight into Singapore’s digital agenda in helping industry build trust with stakeholders through the development of testing and certification programmes.
This builds on existing efforts to develop practical guidelines on deploying AI responsibly via the Model AI Governance Framework.
