In more detail

Under the AA, Singapore and the EU will establish a framework for cooperation between Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), the Digital Trust Centre (DTC) at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) which has been designated as Singapore’s AI Safety Institute; DG CONNECT and the EU AI Office. The goal is to drive AI safety research; strengthen our understanding of evaluations of advanced AI; and support best practices and protocols in safe and trustworthy AI. According to MDDI's press release, the AA sets out the following key areas of cooperation to address the safety of general purpose AI models:

1. Information exchange: Sharing expertise of information and best practices on aspects of AI safety, including relevant technologies, governance frameworks, technical tools and evaluations, and research and development, for the purpose of advancing AI safety. These may include expert information exchange with related partners, such as institutes of higher learning, think-tanks, enterprises, government agencies, or other ecosystem stakeholders.
2. Joint testing and evaluations: Conducting assessments of general-purpose AI models to evaluate their capabilities, limitations, and risks, including challenges arising from deployment.
3. Development of tools and benchmarks: Creating frameworks to evaluate capabilities, limitations, and risks associated with general-purpose AI models.
4. Standardisation activities: For general-purpose AI.
5. AI safety research: Advancing joint research initiatives to explore new approaches to promote safer AI systems and manage and mitigate risks.
6. Insights on emerging trends: Sharing perspectives on technological developments in the field of AI to better address evolving challenges.

For further information, see the MDDI’s press release.

Key takeaways

The new AA between Singapore and the EU is a significant step towards advancing the safety and reliability of AI technologies, and is consistent with Singapore's whole of government national AI strategy to deepen the responsible, sustainable and safe use of AI in Singapore. It also follows the issuance of various guidelines and recommendations on AI by various government agencies, including the following:  

• The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore's Guidelines on Securing AI Systems
• The Infocommunications Media Development Authority and AI Verify Foundation's Model AI Governance Framework and Model AI Governance Framework for Generative AI
• The Personal Data Protection Commission's Advisory Guidelines on the Use of Personal Data in AI Recommendation and Decision Systems

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For further information and to discuss what this development might mean for you, please get in touch with your usual Baker McKenzie contact.

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