Singapore Wants to Play ‘Long Game’ in AI Space, MAS Official Says

Sunil Jagtiani, Bloomberg News

Signage of the Monetary Authority of Singapore at its building, in Singapore, on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. The financial watchdog’s focus on enforcement is crucial to the country’s ambition to be a trusted global financial hub where investors park trillions of dollars, the bulk from overseas. , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Singapore aims to foster the responsible development of artificial intelligence technology after learning lessons from upheavals in the digital-asset sector, according to the chief fintech officer at the central bank.

“We want to play a long game on this space,” Monetary Authority of Singapore official Sopnendu Mohanty said on Bloomberg Television. “We want to ensure whatever AI we adopt or we promote, it stays for a long period of time. We have learned a lot of lessons in the whole DLT/digital currency space. If you rush yourself very fast, you may see bad actors coming very quickly.”

Mohanty, speaking Wednesday in an interview with Bloomberg’s Haslinda Amin, said there were “double-digit billion dollar” AI investments in Singapore this year and potentially many thousands of related vacancies to fill. He highlighted use cases including financial services and capital markets.

Singapore established itself as one of the hubs of the digital-asset industry during the pandemic-era Bitcoin boom. But two major crypto players with bases in the city-state, Terraform Labs Pte and the Three Arrows Capital hedge fund, both imploded, exacerbating a deep slump in the sector.

The nation has since reshaped its crypto hub to focus on productive uses of blockchain technology while curbing speculative investment.