Commentary: Singapore’s AI push must not come at the cost of meaningful work

SINGAPORE: If there’s one message that keeps coming up in Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s recent speeches, it’s that Singapore can’t afford to sit on the sidelines as artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes the global economy.

Singapore needs to “think harder” about how it can help every company “make full use of AI”, he said at a conference last month hosted by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) and Singapore Business Federation (SBF).

Then on Sunday (Aug 17), during his National Day Rally (NDR) speech, Mr Wong described AI as “a defining technology of our time”, likening its impact to the computer and the internet.

“We will equip and empower every enterprise, especially our SMEs – to harness AI effectively, and sharpen their competitive edge,” he added.

In total, Mr Wong mentioned AI around 40 times in his speech, as he outlined Singapore’s vision to boost productivity through widespread adoption of the technology.

While the ambition is clear, the challenge lies in how it will be implemented in the workplace.

A recent multi-country study found that only 19 per cent of firms in Singapore have adopted artificial intelligence or machine learning tools.

That means there’s significant room for future adoption. But if the implementation isn’t handled thoughtfully, AI risks stripping work of its meaning and purpose, reducing our sense of mastery and leaving us feeling like cogs in a machine.

The central question for Singapore’s AI future, therefore, shouldn’t be about using the latest AI tools. 

What truly matters is how we integrate AI thoughtfully into our personal and professional lives, so that AI enhances – rather than erodes – the meaning and purpose we derive from our work.

A CAMERA DOES NOT MAKE SOMEONE A PHOTOGRAPHER

When we hear “AI adoption” in the name of productivity, the first thing that comes to mind is automation – technology doing things faster and cheaper.

That sounds great (think of the cost savings this would bring!). But is there a risk of automation without reflection? Of mindless automation? We wouldn’t want to create a situation where workers are reduced to passive overseers of machines, there just to monitor and push the stop button if anything goes wrong.

Such work can be very disengaging, and we would lose the opportunities to practise and hone our skills.

We are already seeing this in places with poor outsourcing practices, where staff grow over-reliant on external companies to do the work for them, such that it weakens decision-making and detaches staff from the work they are responsible for.

Far from empowering, such over-dependency leaves workers less confident, less capable, and less in control.

The point is this: What we lose from automation is not a technology problem – it is fundamentally a problem rooted in mindsets.

A pencil does not make one a writer or an artist; and a camera does not make one a photographer.

What matters is whether we see the tool merely as an instrument of utility or as an extension of our creativity and judgment.

AI is no different.

Too often, people want to use it as a crutch to “do everything for them”. But AI makes mistakes, just like humans.

And yet we are prone to defer our own judgments to computer systems – even in trivial matters. As an example, I once tried to order bubble tea without ice. The cashier refused. Not because it was hard to do, but because “the system” wouldn’t allow it. All she had to do was not put ice into the cup. Instead, she refused because “the system” (i.e. the cash register) would not allow her to key in the order for an iceless drink.

This might seem trivial (and bizarre), but it tells us how easily we humans are willing to surrender our agency to a machine.

WHAT IS AGENCY?

Agency, at its core, is the psychological conviction that we have the freedom and the ability to shape our environment. Those with a weakened sense of agency often feel they are not in a position to change anything, or that nothing can be changed, and thus resign themselves to the status quo.

The philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel described work as a dialogue between the human mind and the world. A sculptor imprints ideas from her mind onto the clay by working with it, by shaping it with her hands. And by working with the clay – pressing, pulling, reshaping – the clay shapes her mind by revealing more about its properties and what she can and cannot do with it.

It is through work that we gain a clear understanding of what we can and cannot do. It equips us with the necessary practical knowledge to effectively anticipate challenges, solve problems and craft strong strategies. Most importantly, it allows us to recognise and seize opportunities for innovation. In essence, work fosters mastery, builds confidence, and ultimately grants us freedom – the very foundation of human agency.

The challenge, then, is not to let AI sever this dialogue.

To use AI meaningfully to enhance our productivity, we must continue to stay “in the loop” – to be engaged, questioning and reflective.

This means being engaged in the things we are responsible for by resisting the temptation of simply accepting AI-generated answers uncritically. It requires having the curiosity to probe, the responsibility to stay engaged and understand what is really happening on the ground, and the courage to challenge the AI’s answers when our instincts say otherwise.

TECHNOLOGY SHOULD MAKE US BETTER, NOT JUST FASTER

At the end of the day, AI is made in our image and likeness – it is fallible, limited and prone to error.

It becomes “superior” only when we surrender our agency to it.

Without this fundamental mindset shift, we risk using AI to detach from our work, and to empty out meaning and purpose in what we do.

As long as we remain engaged – actively steering, questioning and shaping what we do alongside AI – then we can be assured that these tools will amplify our human potential and creativity, rather than diminish it. This is very much how an artist is able to create beautiful works of art with a mere pencil.

Jonathan Sim is Lecturer of AI & Philosophy with the NUS Learning & Development Academy; and Fellow of the NUS Teaching Academy.