Firms should be more transparent about AI’s impact on workers: Jasmin Lau

SINGAPORE - Companies here adopting artificial intelligence should be more transparent about what the use of the technology means for their employees, said Acting Minister for Manpower Jasmin Lau.

While workers may not be pushing back, this does not mean they are necessarily happy, she said to an audience of about 150 business leaders at the inaugural SG AI Xchange, held at the Singapore Institute of Technology on Sept 17.

“They want to know what their business leaders are really thinking, whether you are already planning retrenchments and slowdown in hiring,” said Lau, who is also Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information.

“Don’t take a quiet workforce for an agreeable workforce.”

For example, plans for increased automation should be shared with workers, including any retraining they would have to go through, Lau said.

Such companies which are facing poor business outlooks should also share that information with staff, she said, noting workers may blame AI for the hard decisions made even if they are unrelated to the technology.

“We think that a lot more communication and transparency will help keep our workers and our companies together, and we hope that you play a part in it,” she said.

Lau also noted a groundswell of workers and younger students who are "somewhat anti-AI”, over concerns about the technology’s impact on jobs and the environment.

These are real sentiments and emotions that should not be ignored, she said.

“I spend a lot of time assuring workers and students that we are not blind in our pursuit for AI – that we want to use the technology for good, and at the end of the day, it is not about chasing the use of AI in itself,” she said.

“We will do so if it means giving our workers better jobs, and we will do so if it means providing better services for our people.”

She noted this comes even as more AI companies set up shop here, pointing to examples such as Claude developer Anthropic’s announcement that it would open an office here in October.

Held at the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), the SG AI Xchange is a new series of forums that aim to facilitate the exchange of knowledge between established AI Centres of Excellence and emerging builders to accelerate AI transformation here.

Such centres – which span research labs and innovation hubs – drive AI innovation and adoption, such as by creating custom AI solutions integrated into a company’s workflows and products, said the Economic Development Board (EDB) in a statement.

Since 2024, almost 100 AI centres of excellence have been established here across industries ranging from finance to manufacturing, said Lau.

“Within manufacturing alone, we see companies in semiconductors, medtech, mobility, energy and chemicals building up their AI capabilities,” she said.

Organised by EDB, SIT and chipmaker GlobalFoundries, the first SG AI Xchange was focused on advanced manufacturing, one of Singapore's four national AI missions.

Such a forum gives firms adopting AI a platform to share their experiences on issues such as data infrastructure as well as cybersecurity, as well as how they can get their workers onboard, said Lau.

This however only works if companies also share what they have not done well, she said, while noting how people in Singapore tend to be more reserved about such matters.

Acknowledging that companies may not be willing to openly share everything, Lau said there is still “a lot of value” in identifying the problems that they needed to solve and the challenges faced along the way.

“I ask that you share that, so that others will share back, sometimes with a connection or a solution you did not expect,” she said.

Speaking at the event, SIT president Chua Kee Chaing said the university sees AI not as a technology to be adopted, but as a capability to be built.

“How do we build a workforce fluent and confident in using AI, while knowing when and how to use it? These are not purely technology questions; they are questions of talent and organisational transformation,” he said.

GlobalFoundries Singapore senior vice president and general manager Tan Yew Kong said the AI revolution is one that cannot be reversed, comparing it to how paper maps had largely been supplanted by GPS alternatives.

Companies undergoing AI transformation should bring their workers on the journey, such as by informing them on matters such as how their jobs will be affected and what sort of reskilling is required.