Singapore in talks with tech firms about adding ‘nutrition labels’ to AI products, minister says

SINGAPORE, May 20 (Reuters) – Singapore is in talks with technology companies about attaching “nutrition labels” to AI products, designating their intended uses and limitations, a senior minister said on Wednesday.

“We may start with a voluntary framework, and then in time … we’ll see how effective these kinds of labels are before deciding to take the next step,” digital development and information minister Josephine Teo told Reuters in an interview.

The labels, which would be a global first, would apply to consumer applications with AI features, similar to food or medicine labels. She said they would indicate the “right ways” and “not-so-correct ways” of using AI.

The minister, who was speaking on the sidelines of the Asia Tech x Singapore Summit, said Singapore is also developing testing frameworks and accrediting organisations to evaluate AI products.

The country has emerged as a neutral ground for the AI sector, popular with both U.S. and Chinese startups.

Singapore announced on Wednesday that it would host OpenAI’s first Applied AI Lab outside the United States, with an investment of more than $234 million. 

At the same time, Google DeepMind announced a partnership with Singapore covering education, healthcare and scientific research after opening a new AI lab in the country in November.

Teo said at the ATX summit that Singapore wants to support 10,000 firms with AI adoption and expand usage across the manufacturing, healthcare and finance sectors. 

She identified the city-state’s semiconductor equipment manufacturing, which accounts for 20% of global supply, as a key asset to build an AI hub.

She said Singapore is also investing in energy-efficient AI research at the chip and algorithm level to address power constraints.

Teo was speaking ahead of talks she and digital ministers from other ASEAN member states will hold with U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg. 

Representatives from China are also attending the summit, which has become a rare forum where policymakers from both the United States and China regularly meet.

($1 = 1.2810 Singapore dollars)

(Reporting by Jun Yuan Yong and Fanny Potkin)