Four government agencies, including Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), are collaborating to strengthen Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the country’s financial sector.
“MAS is collaborating with the Economic Development Board (EDB), Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) to accelerate the adoption of AI in Singapore’s financial sector,” announced the authority in a press release issued today.
The collaboration aims to foster a thriving AI ecosystem comprising financial institutions, research institutions, and AI solution providers.
Regarding the scope of the AI collaboration, MAS said, “The four agencies will jointly facilitate research and development of new AI technologies and adoption of AI-enabled products, services and processes for the financial sector. The joint effort will encompass three key prongs: developing AI products, matching users and solution providers, and strengthening AI capabilities.”
MAS has provided Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics (AIDA) grant worth SGD27 million to boost AI activities in Singapore. The grant has garnered significant interest from the industry.
Moreover, there are currently several pipeline projects in areas such as deep learning and natural language processing, and three applied research Requests-for-Proposals in AI-related themes.
“EDB will augment the AIDA programme by providing support for AI solution providers locally and globally to create new AI products and services for Singapore’s financial sector. The MAS-EDB partnership will encourage leading AI solution providers to conduct both upstream research and product development activities for the financial sector,” said MAS in the release.
Moreover, MAS will work with EDB and IMDA to facilitate link-ups between players in the financial and technology sectors. IMDA’s AI business partnership programme will be extended to provide tailored support for the financial sector’s AI adoption needs by providing a guided process to pair local companies seeking AI solutions with credible AI solutions providers.
In addition to this, MAS will work closely with IBF to strengthen AI capabilities and skillsets in the financial sector. This will help financial industry professional transit into new jobs arising from the use of AI in financial services.
IMDA provides AI apprenticeship opportunities through its TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) programme, and is also working with MAS to help align university curriculum to the needs of key hirers in the financial sector in the area of data science and AI.
“As financial institutions and FinTechs increase the experimentation and use of AI and data analytics to improve their services, government agencies need to ensure that our support, policies and regulations are attuned to developments and remain supportive of these new technologies. Our agencies will work towards a conducive environment that supports and expands the adoption of AI and data analytics in Singapore,” said Dr David Hardoon, Chief Data Officer of MAS.
“The pervasive use of AI will help drive the digital transformation of our financial industry which will in turn create new and exciting jobs in areas such as computer vision, machine learning, data analytics, and software development,” said Kiren Kumar, Assistant Managing Director, EDB.
“EDB is committed to working closely with the various government agencies and industry partners to grow the vibrancy and capabilities of Singapore’s AI ecosystem,” he added.
“We look forward to working together to building a conducive environment that promotes innovation through the right balance between AI and data sharing, while reinforcing good practices in handling personal data,” said Zee Kin Yeong, Assistant Chief Executive (Data Innovation and Protection) of IMDA.