Singapore Hosts Advisory Council on AI Ethics, Featuring Google, Microsoft Execs

“Together, the council members discussed a draft model framework on the responsible use of AI published by Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Commission earlier this year…”

Singapore’s Advisory Council on the Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence and Data has just convened its inaugural meeting.

The group includes representatives from some high-profile global companies, including Google’s Asia Pacific VP of Legal, Jenni Aldrich; Microsoft’s Industries Office of the CTO Worldwide National Technology Officer, Andreas Ebert; and Alibaba Deputy General Counsel Partner VP Sara Yu Siying. It also featured government officials and representatives from academia.

Together, the council members discussed a draft model framework on the responsible use of AI published by Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Commission earlier this year, offering suggestions for how the framework could be improved going forward.

It isn’t yet clear how this framework will influence the broader development and adoption of AI technologies around the world, but by convening this council, Singaporean authorities are clearly trying to make their tech-focused city-state a central venue for the discussion, which has grown increasingly heated over the past several months as controversies have erupted over technologies such as Amazon’s Rekognition system, which has been sold to police agencies interested in applying its facial recognition capabilities to public surveillance. In a statement announcing the council meeting, Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (or IMDA) said that “Singapore aims to contribute to the global discourse by proposing a pragmatic governance framework that translates ethical principles into practice.”

The inaugural meeting was held on Friday, November 30th, and IMDA says an updated draft of the Personal Data Protection Commission framework “will be made available soon.”