FAQ
Here are some frequently asked questions as predicted by Google Gemini, and co-authored answers by me and Gemini.
Why did I write this book, and will there be a series?
Find the answers to these questions here!
Why did I write AI-First Nation?
This book is to document how AI Singapore played a part in Singapore’s AI journey. More importantly, it allows me to share my experiences with the younger engineers joining AI Singapore so they can truly appreciate our various programs and gain a better understanding of our programmes. It is also an opportunity to share our best practices, programmes, and challenges faced with other countries on the same AI discovery journey.
Will there be other books about AI Singapore?
I plan to make AIFN into a series. I will collaborate with my different team leaders to explore the operational specifics of each of their programmes. Essentially, I plan to turn the AIAP-X program into a series of books, sharing our ideas and best practices with a wider audience. And yes, I will use an LLM as a biographer to assist both me and my team leader in writing our stories.
What are the key recommendations of the AI-First Nation blueprint?
The blueprint highlights a holistic approach to AI development, encompassing four key stakeholders:
1. Governments: Must invest in AI infrastructure, talent development, support AI projects, and implement ethical AI regulations.
2. Industry: Should experiment boldly with AI, prioritize responsible AI practices, and partner with the government and academia to share both the burdens and rewards of AI development.
3. Academia: Need to train AI researchers, engineers, and ensure AI literacy for all.
4. Everyone: Should strive to become AI-literate, understand the potential benefits and challenges of AI, and demand ethical AI practices from companies.
What lessons can other nations learn from AI Singapore’s journey?
AI Singapore’s journey provides valuable lessons for other countries seeking to become AI-First nations. These lessons include the importance of:
1. Government commitment and investment: Significant government backing and investment bolstered the success of AI Singapore.
2. Collaboration between government, industry, and academia: AI Singapore has effectively brought together diverse stakeholders to drive AI innovation and adoption.
3. Focus on talent development: AIAP and LearnAI are prime examples of successful talent development programmes that other nations can replicate.
4. Openness and transparency: AI Singapore’s willingness to share its experiences, both successes and challenges, provides valuable insights for others to learn from.
Why did I choose to use Google Gemini as the AI-assistant?
Using Gemini was purely coincidental. The announcement of Google Gemini coincided with my decision to write this book. Since Gemini was new and had 128,000 tokens support, I thought why not try it to write my book by prompting it to act as a biographer.
My initial experiment was positive, and I had quickly developed a simple but effective prompt to get Gemini to act as a biographer to ask me questions about the programmes I developed. Of course, I had to feed Gemini the background information from webpages, my narrated PowerPoint slides of a typical presentation I make to visiting delegates.
What is AI Singapore’s mission and vision?
AI Singapore aims to establish deep national capabilities in Artificial Intelligence, creating social and economic impacts, growing local talent, building an AI ecosystem, and putting Singapore on the world map.
How does AI Singapore collaborate with other organizations?
AI Singapore works with a diverse range of stakeholders, including government agencies (NRF, SNDGO, EDG, IMDA), universities (NUS), research institutions (A*STAR), and private companies. Collaboration takes various forms, from joint research projects and talent development programmes to the co-creation of AI tools and resources.
Why was an industry expert chosen to lead AI Singapore’s Innovation pillar?
While academic leadership is typical for research grants, the NRF sought an industry expert for AI Singapore’s Innovation pillar to accelerate the adoption of AI in the industry. Laurence Liew, with his extensive experience in building technology companies and fostering innovation, took on the role of spearheading the initiative and bridging the gap between research and application.
What are the 5 pillars of AI Singapore?
AI Singapore focuses on five pillars:
1. AI Research: Investing in groundbreaking AI research and innovation.
2. AI Technology: Solving complex national and business problems with AI challenges.
3. AI Innovation: Accelerating AI adoption and developing a skilled AI workforce.
4. AI Products: Developing open-source tools and frameworks to democratize AI.
5. AI Governance: Conducting AI ethics and governance research to guide national policies.
What were some of the challenges faced in establishing AI Singapore?
Some of the challenges included securing funding (for non-AI Singapore funded programmes), navigating the academic and industry landscape, and building a team with the right expertise.
What are the goals of the 100E program?
The goals are to build real-world, deployable AI products and solutions for the industry and to transfer AI knowledge and talent to the industry. The original definition of talent here was supposed to be the university AI researchers (RAs, PhDs, Postdocs etc). Today the AIAP apprentices are the talents that are joining the industry.
What is the difference between 100E4I and 100E4R?
100E4I (100E for Industry) focuses on 7-month projects with a focus on delivering production-quality minimum viable products, while 100E4R (100E for Research) focuses on longer-term research projects between 18-24 months.
What are some of the key criteria for 100E project approval?
Key criteria:
1. Singapore-registered and based company with engineering team able to take over the ML pipeline and model from us.
2. Positive ROI outcome for the proposed project.
3. It is an AI project.
4. Good quality data.
5. Project must go into deployment within 6-months of handover.
What was the purpose of AI Makerspace (AIMS)?
AIMS was created to empower SMEs and startups with free and opensource AI tools, resources, and expertise. Over the last 7 years, we have released more than 50 such tools (AI Bricks) for the industry.
What are AI Bricks?
AI Bricks are pre-built AI solutions for specific industry use cases, serving as building blocks for rapid AI development and deployment.
How did AI Makerspace contribute to the development of LearnAI?
AI Makerspace funding was used to build out the LearnAI platform, hire a team of curriculum developers (ex AIAPs) and for an extensive outreach program that eventually evolved into LearnAI. LearnAI is now a comprehensive learning framework for AI education.
What is the AI Apprenticeship Program (AIAP)?
AIAP is a fulltime, 9-month programme designed to equip Singaporeans with real-world AI engineering skills.
Why was AIAP created?
AIAP was created because I could not find enough Singaporeans to join my AI engineering team in the early days of AI Singapore. I needed AI engineers to execute the 100E programme.
What are the two phases of the AIAP program?
The two phases are a 2-month deep-skilling phase focused on building a solid foundation in AI and a 7-month project phase where apprentices apply their knowledge to real-world projects (100E and internal projects).
What is the vision behind LearnAI?
The vision is to democratise AI and make AI accessible and understandable to everyone, from the public to students and industry professionals.
However, when we first started, we had no such grand plans. The plan was simple. Have an AI For Everyone 3-hours course to educate the companies we were engaging, so that the managers and professionals understand AI, and were not afraid to do 100E AI projects with us. This is so we can meet our KPIs!
How has LearnAI been integrated into the national education system?
AI For Everyone was adopted by all the polytechnics and ITE to be a foundation AI course for all students. LearnAI has also been integrated into the Student Learning Space (SLS) run by the Ministry of Education, providing all students and teachers in Singapore with accessible AI education.
What is the AI Readiness Index (AIRI)?
AIRI is a tool that helps organizations assess their readiness for AI adoption. It was developed originally to help our AI Consultants identify suitable companies to engage for 100E. Later it was enhanced as a tool that companies and countries can adopt and use to understand their AI maturity and readiness.
What are the five pillars of AIRI?
The five pillars are:
1. Organizational Readiness
2. Business Value Readiness
3. Data Readiness
4. Infrastructure Readiness, and
5. Ethics and Governance Readiness.
How is AIRI used in the 100E program?
AIRI is used to identify organizations that are AI-Ready for the 100E programme and to recommend for companies that are not yet AI-Ready, that is, they are AI-Unaware or AI-Aware, alternative programmes to kickstart their AI journey and maturity first.
What is AIAP-X?
AIAP-X is a program that licenses AI Singapore’s 100E, AIAP and LearnAI know-how to other organisations and countries, helping them build their own AI programmes and AI talent pipelines. Countries that have embarked on AIAP-X includes Egypt, Malaysia and soon other countries – one from EU, Middle east and South Asia (2024).
How is AI Singapore involved in the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI)?
Laurence Liew co-chairs the Innovation and Commercialization Working Group in GPAI and leads the project on Broad Adoption of AI by SMEs.