Singapore’s AI ambitions depend on more than deploying new tools. At the launch of SG AI Xchange on 17 September 2026, Acting Minister for Manpower Jasmin Lau urged employers to be open with workers about how AI could affect them, while the new forum set out to help companies learn from one another’s experience of putting AI to work.
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Why worker silence matters
Lau cautioned employers not to take “a quiet workforce for an agreeable workforce.” Workers who do not object openly may still be concerned about what automation means for their jobs. She also said that anti-AI feelings among workers and younger students should not be ignored.
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Her practical request was for clearer communication. Companies should discuss automation and retraining plans and be frank about possible retrenchments or slower hiring, rather than leave employees to guess what is coming. Lau’s published opening address linked greater communication and transparency to keeping workers and companies together.
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What SG AI Xchange is meant to change
SG AI Xchange gives business leaders a place to share what they have learned while adopting and scaling AI. The inaugural event highlighted advanced manufacturing, and reporting on the launch also emphasised building workforce capabilities and involving workers in organisational change.
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8 The forum’s value, in that framing, is not simply promoting AI: it is helping firms work through implementation while keeping employees engaged.
The launch came amid growth in Singapore’s company-level AI capacity. Nearly 100 dedicated in-house AI teams, known as AI Centres of Excellence, had been established since 2024. They develop customised solutions and deepen local AI expertise. The Economic Development Board described SG AI Xchange as a way to connect global AI players with local companies, talent and researchers.
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The takeaway for employers: practical AI adoption and worker trust are connected. Sharing deployment lessons may help firms move forward, but it does not replace a direct, honest account to employees of how their work could change.
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