Opening Remarks at Launch of GO Forward with AI

Mr Foo Cexiang, Minister of State for Manpower, Grab@Tampines

Ms Ong Chin Yin, Chief Organisational Capability Officer, Grab
Mr Alejandro Osorio, Managing Director, Grab Singapore
Mr Oliver Jay, Managing Director (International), OpenAI
Distinguished Guests,

A very good morning to everyone. I am so happy to be here to join you for the launch of GO Forward with AI, Grab and OpenAI’s new regional partnership, launching first here in Singapore. 

2 Before I begin, I want to take the time to recognise all the platform workers who have taken time out of your busy schedules to be with us today. Whether you are delivering meals, transporting passengers, or balancing platform work with your other responsibilities, all of you already wear multiple hats every day. You manage your own schedules, make decisions independently, solve problems on the go. I also know that you constantly seek to better serve your customers.

3 That is why it is so encouraging to see so all of you here. Choosing to spend your time learning something new reflects a quality that has always been a strength of Singapore workers, and certainly our platform workers: the willingness to keep improving ourselves, the strength to adapt to change, and stay open to new opportunities. And in many ways, this is the mindset that will propel you forward in this new technological age.

Using AI for both personal and work purposes

4 Like many of you, I actually started experimenting with AI a couple of years ago. At the very beginning, my obsession was to use AI to digitally restore a lot of my family photos, especially photos of my grandparents. Most of the photos were in black and white, and many photos were damaged. I used AI to recreate a lot of these pictures and it brought a lot of joy to the family. That was a couple of years ago, and AI has improved a lot since then.

5 On the work front, I make a lot of speeches these days. I took on an appointment as Minister of State at the start of this month and this is already my seventh speech in my two and a half weeks on the job.

6 AI has been incredibly helpful for this purpose. Allow me to share with you a little bit of what I do. I now use AI to help write, revise and improve some of the speeches. These days, when I receive a draft, my first prompt to AI is “Help me refine it in the style and tone of Foo Cexiang”. AI would reply me, “Foo Cexiang is usually positive, practical, and motivational. These are some of the edits that will be able to achieve his tone.” I then look at the suggestions, and think these are good points that we can incorporate. But that is not all. For you to be able to fully leverage the potential of AI, you also need original thinking and ideas. Hence, every speech I give, I have a couple of thoughts that I want to share with the audience. ChatGPT will then help me craft it in a way that reads best to everyone.

7 Ultimately, what I have found is that AI works best not as a substitute for human judgement, but as a tool that helps us spend more time on what people do best. AI helps us acquire the information to exercise judgement, build relationships, and solve problems creatively.

8 When we discuss AI, I think a genuine concern amongst people is who will benefit from AI? We have heard the views of Jay and Chin Yin, and I will say this: the Government, our companies, and the unions, we must work together in Singapore – together with all of our workers, to make sure that AI becomes an escalator for everyone, not only an elevator for some.

9 AI should not create opportunities only for a small group of technology experts. It needs to be able to support workers from all walks of life, for us to become more productive, more capable, and most importantly, more confident in pursuing our aspirations.

Giving Platform Workers More Agency

10 That is why today’s programme matters. At the root of it, there is a recognition that platform workers should have access to the same opportunities to learn and grow as every other worker around the world.

11 Earlier on, I met Noor, Kelsy, Putri and Sharon. They are already working on their own businesses. Putri is running a baking business on the side. Noor has been helping her family with the sales, the delivery orders of chicken rice in a shop in Whampoa. Congratulations to all four of them for having stepped forward with these entrepreneurial businesses.

12 The platform workers I meet are not waiting passively for change to happen. You are looking for ways to improve your skills, strengthen your earning potential, and ultimately build a better future for yourselves and your families.

13 Many platform workers also demonstrate a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Every day, you make decisions about how to manage your time, serve your customers, organise your work, and achieve your goals. Many of you are already running small businesses, pursuing side ventures, or exploring ideas that you want to develop further.

14 AI can be a wonderful partner in that journey. You can use it to understand customer preferences, develop marketing content, generate ideas, compare options, and test new concepts quickly with minimal capital expenditure. AI lowers the barriers to opportunities and possibilities that you previously may have thought about but decided not to do because it costs too much. But now with AI, we can try, we can prototype and see whether it works.

15 Today’s masterclass will give everyone practical exposure to these possibilities. The aim is not simply to learn about AI, but to understand how to apply it in a way that is responsible, relevant and useful to all your respective goals.

16 And your learning need not end today. The Government has recently announced that eligible Singaporeans who enroll in selected SkillsFuture AI courses will receive six months of complimentary access to premium versions of AI tools. With subscriptions to ChatGPT Plus, Google AI Pro, Manus AI, Microsoft 365 Personal or Singtel AI Pass, you can continue building your confidence and fluency with AI beyond the classroom.

Platform Operators Investing in Workers

17 Today is also significant because it reflects Grab’s commitment to invest in the development of our platform workers. Good partnerships are not just about creating work opportunities. They are also about creating opportunities for the future - for learning, growth and improvement.

18 By partnering with OpenAI to bring practical AI training to platform workers, Grab is helping its partners gain access to knowledge and tools that can strengthen their capabilities, support their present work, and broaden the possibilities for the future.

19 This is not about steering every platform worker towards the same destination. Each worker will have different needs and aspirations. Some may use AI to work more effectively. Others may apply it to a small business or side venture. Some others may have been like me when I started out, wanting to understand technology, use it to build meaningful family moments, and all of these are all equally important uses of technology.

20 The Government will continue to support this approach. We want every worker, including every platform worker, to have access to opportunities to develop new skills, remain resilient and strong in a changing economy, and benefit from technological progress.

21 All of us have a role to play. When the Government, businesses, unions and workers come together, this is how we will ensure that AI will not become an elevator for some, but an escalator for all.

22 Congratulations to all of you for taking this first step onto the escalator today. I wish you the very best for the masterclass.