SINGAPORE, 30 May 2024 — Singapore has announced it will invest approximately S$300 million (US$222 million) in its National Quantum Strategy (NQS) to develop its growing quantum industry. Outlined by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Kiat, who also serves as chairman of the National Research Foundation (NRF), the initiative aims to bolster Singapore's position as a leading hub for the development and deployment of quantum technologies over the next five years.
Deputy Prime Minister Heng also unveiled the Green Data Center (DC) Roadmap, which charts a green growth path for DCs that will guide digital sustainability and support AI and computing development. On AI, Deputy Prime Minister Heng announced the release of a Model AI Governance Framework (Generative AI) and the development of the Forum for Digital Organisations of Small Countries (DFOSS) AI Governance Playbook in collaboration with Rwanda to improve AI safety.
NQS will focus on four fundraising initiatives:
- The Center for Quantum Technologies (CQT) National University of SingaporeIt is set to be elevated to a national flagship research centre.
- A new national quantum sensor program will be established under the Quantum Engineering Program 3.0 (QEP 3.0), and existing national-level quantum programs will enhance their current set of capabilities to meet industry needs.
- A new National Quantum Processor Initiative (NQPI) was established, Singapore Design and build your own practical quantum processor.
- The National Quantum Scholarship Scheme (NQSS) is Singapore Talent pipeline in quantum research and development (R&D).
Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information Janil Puthucheari spoke about how Singapore is playing a leading role in ensuring the long-term, sustainable growth of DCs with its Green DC Roadmap. The roadmap aims to provide at least 300MW of additional capacity in the short term, with further capacity to be increased through the deployment of green energy. The additional capacity aims to create innovative ways to accelerate energy efficiency, as well as hybrid ways to unlock further capacity through green energy.
The roadmap also outlines IMDA’s plans to partner with industry to push the boundaries and accelerate DC sustainability on two fronts.
- DC Acceleration Energy efficiency At the hardware and software level, we enable industries and end users to deploy best-in-class technology to maximize efficiency, capacity and economic potential.
- Accelerating the use of DC Green Energy We will look at how to expand capacity and deploy this at scale over the long term to maximize space for continued growth of our data centers.
Singapore is actively contributing to the global AI safety debate through initiatives such as the Model AI Governance Framework (Generative AI) and the Digital Forum for Small Countries (DFOSS). The Model AI Governance Framework (Gen AI) is the first comprehensive framework to consolidate global conversational AI governance.
The final framework released today will be mapped to international AI principles such as the G7 Hiroshima Principles on Interoperability.
Source: Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore
