Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said artificial intelligence will disrupt jobs in Singapore, but he urged workers and firms to build AI skills and use the technology's benefits at the annual May Day rally on Friday. [1]
Wong said he could not promise there would be no disruption. “Jobs will change. Some will disappear, and the pace of change will be faster than anything we have seen before,” he said. [1]
He said the government will create new and better jobs as the economy transforms. “We may not be able to protect every job, but we will protect every worker,” Wong said. [1]
Wong also cast Singapore as a regional hub for AI companies. He said firms including Google DeepMind have invested and set up facilities in the city-state. [1]
The remarks came as Singapore pushes firms and workers to adapt to AI faster and deepen their capabilities. Wong framed that shift as a trade-off between job losses in some areas and new openings in others. [1]
Wong's comments on AI came at the annual May Day rally, where he addressed workers' anxieties about the technology and its effect on employment. [1]
