Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Communications and Information (a) whether the Government has set specific targets for Singapore’s global share of aggregate computing power over the next five to 10 years; (b) if so, what is this target share and by when; (c) which agency is responsible for this initiative; and (d) what interim milestones will the Government use to track progress.
The Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information (Dr Janil Puthucheary) (for the Minister for Communications): Sir, no such target has been set. The amount of computing resources needed in Singapore will depend on the workloads that the private and public sectors expect to process and how these workloads are distributed. This will change dynamically in response to needs and available alternatives.
Mr Speaker: Mr Gerald Giam.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song (Aljunied): I thank the Senior Minister of State for his reply. Can I ask if the Government is pushing for more data computing power in the country, in other words, building more data centres? If so, how would the Government ensure that Singaporeans directly benefit from these developments and we create a more level paying field for everyone to access such computing power, including microenterprises, students and individual Singaporeans?
Secondly, what are the Government’s sustainability considerations with regard to data centres, given that data centres consume a tremendous amount of energy which contributes to the carbon footprint and environmental impact in Singapore.
Dr Janil Puthucheary: Mr Speaker, Sir, are we pushing for more data centres? The answer is yes. I would refer the Member to our digital connectivity blueprint as well as documents associated with how we have called for more applications for data centres which conform to sustainability measures – in answer to his second question. These have been published, where we are pushing for the data centres that are located in Singapore to be more environmentally friendly, to be more sustainable in terms of the energy used for computing, the software that runs on them, as well as how they maintain their facilities, the cooling standards.
How will Singaporeans benefit? Well, again, I would refer to the various documents that we published, looking at how we are digitalising a variety of industries and this digitalisation of the industries should, through these strategies, result in better jobs. We are also trying to make sure that Singaporeans have the training and skills necessary to take advantage of these opportunities that are brought here.
Mr Speaker: Assoc Prof Jamus Lim.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim (Sengkang): Sir, I understand Senior Minister of State Janil’s argument about why the total amount of processing power that the country will have will depend, of course, on a balance between the public and the private sector. But given the stated goal of the Government in its national AI strategy to push for applications within the Government, I wonder if there are at least plans to consider ramping up, especially graphical processing units acquisition, because this is so critical to ensuring foundational AI model development, including that by the Government sector.
Dr Janil Puthucheary: Sir, the answer is yes. I would refer the Member to the digital connectivity blueprint which stated exactly that. That is distinct from the question that Mr Giam had asked, which is, whether there is a target of the proportion that we would have or the amount of compute, and that is a separate issue which is how we match needs to the demands. So, are we ramping up? Yes. Do we have a set absolute target? No such target has been set.
Ministry of Communications and Information
26 February 2024
https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/sprs3topic?reportid=oral-answer-3478
Office of the Leader of the Opposition 