Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong stresses the importance of international collaboration at the AI Safety Summit.
SINGAPORE – During the AI Safety Summit in the UK on November 2, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong emphasized the need for global cooperation to address ethical concerns surrounding artificial intelligence (AI). Attending the summit virtually, PM Lee discussed Singapore’s approach to AI and highlighted the importance of shaping safeguards for its development.
He stressed that as AI rapidly evolves, ethical considerations must guide its integration into everyday life, such as self-driving cars and AI-driven medical diagnoses. Countries must cooperate to understand AI ethics and mitigate potential risks, especially in frontier AI, which has transformative potential but also presents security challenges.
PM Lee noted, “No one benefits when AI systems go rogue. Countries will ultimately need to establish some global understanding to make AI systems safer and avoid AI creating strategic risks and instability.” He advocated for the inclusion of all countries in discussions about AI’s future, regardless of size, as even smaller nations like Singapore will be significantly impacted by AI’s benefits and risks.
Additionally, Singapore is collaborating with the UK on the AI Safety Institute and has introduced tools like the AI Verify testing toolkit to ensure safer AI deployment.
The summit also included a roundtable chaired by Minister Josephine Teo, focusing on the potential loss of human oversight over advanced AI systems. The discussions concluded with a commitment to develop global expertise in AI safety, deepen collaborations on testing and auditing, and foster ongoing exchanges among governments, industries, academia, and civil society.
