Safeguards for Deployment of Employment-related AI

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan asked the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider the practices in other advanced economies in implementing stronger safeguards for employment-related AI, such as requiring deployers to conduct risk assessments, ensure human oversight, provide right-to-know transparency and penalties for non-compliance, instead of relying on voluntary frameworks given the high level of AI exposure in Singapore’s labour market.

The Government is actively monitoring trends in artificial intelligence (AI) adoption. Different countries have adopted different approaches to regulate the use of AI tools in employment. Some jurisdictions, such as the European Union and the United States, have implemented legislation, while others, such as the United Kingdom and Australia, have published non-binding guidelines. However, the effectiveness of these measures and their impact on businesses and workers are not clear. Hence, under the overarching ambit of the National AI Council and together with tripartite partners, we are studying the use of AI tools by businesses and its impact on employment, before deciding the most appropriate approach for Singapore. We aim to create an enabling environment for AI tools to be deployed in a responsible manner, while allowing businesses and workers to benefit from the efficiencies that AI can bring.

In this regard, employers must comply with the fair and merit-based employment practices in the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP) and the upcoming Workplace Fairness Act (WFA) in the deployment of AI tools.