Development

AI upskilling at heart of Singapore’s new job strategy

Singapore has launched a $27 billion initiative to boost AI readiness and protect jobs, as global tensions and automation reshape the workforce.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong stressed that securing employment is key to national stability, particularly as geopolitical shifts and AI adoption accelerate.

IMF research warns Singapore’s skilled workers, especially women and youth, are among the most exposed to job disruption from AI technologies.

To address this, the government is expanding its SkillsFuture programme and rolling out local initiatives to connect citizens with evolving job markets.

The tech investment includes $5 billion for AI development and positions Singapore as a leader in digital transformation across Southeast Asia.

Social challenges remain, however, with rising inequality and risks to foreign workers highlighting the need for broader support systems and inclusive policy.

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Malaysia and Huawei drive AI workforce training push

Malaysia has intensified its push to build an AI-ready workforce, with Huawei pledging to train 30,000 local professionals under a new initiative. The plan aligns with Malaysia’s National Cloud Computing Policy, balancing sovereignty and digital economy competitiveness.

Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo stressed that AI adoption must benefit all Malaysians, highlighting applications from small business platforms to AI-assisted diagnostics in remote clinics. He urged collaboration across industries to ensure inclusivity as the country pursues its digital future.

Huawei’s Gartner recognition for container management highlights its cloud-native strength. Its Pangu models and container products will support Malaysia’s AI goals in manufacturing, healthcare, transport, and ASEAN industries.

The programme will target students, officials, industry leaders, and associations while supporting 200 local AI partners. Huawei’s network of availability zones in ASEAN provides low-latency infrastructure, with AI-native innovations designed to accelerate training, inference, and industrial upgrades.

The government of Malaysia views AI as crucial to achieving its 2030 goals, which aim to balance infrastructure, security, and governance. With Huawei’s backing and a new policy framework, the country seeks to establish itself as a regional hub for AI expertise.

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Indonesia promises to bolster digital sovereignty and AI talent on Independence Day

Indonesia marked its 80th Independence Day by reaffirming its commitment to digital sovereignty and technology-driven inclusion.

The Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs, following President Prabowo Subianto’s ‘Indonesia Incorporated’ directive, highlighted efforts to build an inclusive, secure, and efficient digital ecosystem.

Priorities include deploying 4G networks in remote regions, expanding public internet services, and reinforcing the Palapa Ring broadband infrastructure.

On the talent front, the government launched a Digital Talent Scholarship and AI Talent Factory to nurture AI skills, from beginners to specialists, setting the stage for future AI innovation domestically.

In parallel, digital protection measures have been bolstered: over 1.2 million pieces of harmful content have been blocked, while new regulations under the Personal Data Protection Law, age-verification, content monitoring, and reporting systems have been introduced to enhance child safety online.

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AI agents tipped to outnumber humans online

Parag Agrawal, the former Twitter chief executive removed after Elon Musk’s takeover in 2022, has re-entered the technology sector with a new venture.

His company, Parallel Web Systems, is developing AI tools designed to help AI agents gather and analyse information online without human input.

The company’s first product, Deep Research API, outperforms human researchers and advanced models such as OpenAI’s GPT-5 on specific benchmarks.

Agrawal revealed that the system already supports millions of tasks daily and is used by coding agents to locate documents and fix errors. Parallel has secured 30 million dollars in funding and employs around 25 staff.

Agrawal had been Twitter’s chief technology officer before succeeding Jack Dorsey as chief executive in late 2021. After leaving the company, he returned to academic research and coding instead of joining other struggling firms.

He has argued that the internet will eventually be dominated by AI agents rather than human users, predicting that individuals may soon rely on dozens of agents to act on their behalf.

His views echo predictions from Coinbase developers, who recently suggested that AI agents could become the most significant users of Ethereum.

They propose that autonomous systems can handle stablecoin transfers and e-commerce transactions, enabling services from self-driving taxis to AI-powered content platforms.

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Sam Altman admits OpenAI holds back stronger AI models

OpenAI recently unveiled GPT-5, a significant upgrade praised for its advances in accuracy, reasoning, writing, coding and multimodal capabilities. The model has also been designed to reduce hallucinations and excessive agreeableness.

Chief executive Sam Altman has admitted that OpenAI has even more powerful systems that cannot be released due to limited capacity.

Altman explained that the company must make difficult choices, as existing infrastructure cannot yet support the more advanced models. To address the issue, OpenAI plans to invest in new data centres, with spending potentially reaching trillions of dollars.

The shortage of computing power has already affected operations, including a cutback in image generation earlier in the year, following the viral Studio Ghibli-style trend.

Despite criticism of GPT-5 for offering shorter responses and lacking emotional depth, ChatGPT has grown significantly.

Altman said the platform is now the fifth most visited website worldwide and is on track to overtake Instagram and Facebook. However, he acknowledged that competing with Google will be far harder.

OpenAI intends to expand beyond ChatGPT with new standalone applications, potentially including an AI-driven social media service.

The company also backs Merge Labs, a brain-computer interface rival to Elon Musk’s Neuralink. It has partnered with former Apple designer Jony Ive to create a new AI device.

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AI’s promise comes with a heavy environmental price

Governments worldwide are racing to harness the economic potential of AI, but the technology’s environmental toll is growing, and it is impossible to ignore. In the US, President Trump is calling for a ten-year freeze on AI regulation, while the UK is planning ‘AI growth zones’ filled with data centres. Yet these same centres consume enormous amounts of electricity and water, resources already under strain globally.

From 2027, AI systems are expected to use at least four billion cubic metres of water annually, five times Denmark’s yearly consumption. That raises a pressing dilemma: How to support innovation without deepening an already critical global water crisis, where one in four people lacks access to clean drinking water?

The paradox is stark. AI is driving breakthroughs in medicine, agriculture, and climate science, with systems predicting cancer-fighting protein structures and detecting deforestation from space.

AI could save the UK government tens of billions in the public sector by automating routine tasks. But powering these advances requires vast, always-on data centres, which last year in the US alone consumed enough electricity for seven million homes.

Regulators are beginning to respond. The EU now requires big data centres to disclose energy and water use.

The UK, however, has yet to weave AI infrastructure into its climate and planning strategies, a gap that could worsen grid congestion and even delay housing projects. Public concern is mounting: four of five Britons believe AI needs stricter oversight.

Experts say transparency is key. Mandatory reporting on emissions, water use, and energy consumption could give citizens and policymakers the data they need to act. Incentives for efficiency, renewable energy requirements, and creative solutions like using data centre heat to warm homes are already being tested abroad.

The technology’s potential remains enormous. Studies suggest AI could cut more than five billion tonnes of global emissions by 2035, with energy, transport, and food applications. But unless sustainability becomes central to the UK’s AI strategy, the race to innovate risks becoming a sprint into environmental crisis.

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Energy crisis in Iran sparks protests over crypto mining

Iran’s energy shortage has sparked public anger, with residents blaming crypto mining and government mismanagement for blackouts and water scarcity. Demonstrations have broken out across several towns, with protesters demanding accountability.

The crisis has been exacerbated by record drought, soaring summer heat, and the drying of Lake Urmia. Tehran government buildings have shut down to save electricity, and hospitals face power cuts affecting patient care.

Videos shared on social media show protesters chanting ‘water, electricity, life – these are our indisputable rights’ as outages hit homes and businesses. Small traders say they cannot keep shops open, while medics in darkened wards have used handheld fans.

Critics say energy is diverted to IRGC-linked crypto mining, while experts warn of long-term mismanagement. President Masoud Pezeshkian has described the situation as ‘serious and unimaginable’, urging action as public resentment grows ahead of a volatile political season.

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Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust reshapes care with AI and robotic

At The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, AI is beginning to transform how doctors and patients experience healthcare, cutting down on paperwork and making surgery more precise. Hospital leaders say the shift is already delivering tangible results, from faster clinical letters to reduced patient hospital visits.

One of the most impactful innovations is CLEARNotes, a system that records and summarises doctor-patient consultations. Instead of doctors spending days drafting clinic letters, the technology reduces turnaround time from as long as a week to just a day or two. Clinicians report that this tool saves time and improves productivity by as much as 25% in some clinics while ensuring that safety and governance standards remain intact.

Surgery is another area where technology is making its mark. The trust operates two Da Vinci Xi robots, now a regular feature in complex procedures, including urology, colorectal, cardiothoracic, and gynaecology cases. Compared to traditional keyhole surgery, robotic operations give surgeons better control and dexterity through a console linked to a 3D camera, while patients benefit from shorter stays and faster recoveries.

Digital tools also shape the patient’s journey before surgery begins. With My Pre-Op, patients complete their pre-operative questionnaires online from home, reducing unnecessary hospital visits and helping to ensure they are in the best condition for their operation. Hospital staff say this streamlines both efficiency and patient comfort.

The innovations recently drew praise from Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle, who visited the hospital to see the systems in action. He described the trust’s embrace of AI and robotics as ‘inspiring,’ noting how safe experimentation and digital adoption already translate into improved care and efficiency. For Wolverhampton’s healthcare providers, the changes represent not just a technological upgrade but a glimpse into the future of how the NHS might deliver care across the country.

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Singapore sets jobs as top priority amid global uncertainty

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said employment for citizens will remain the government’s top priority as the nation confronts global trade tensions and the rapid advance of AI.

Speaking at the annual National Day Rally to mark Singapore’s 60th year, Wong pointed to the risks created by the US–China rivalry, renewed tariff policies under President Donald Trump, and the pressure technology places on workers.

In his first primary address since the May election, Wong emphasised the need to reinforce the trade-reliant economy, expand social safety nets and redevelop parts of the island.

He pledged to protect Singaporeans from external shocks by maintaining stability instead of pursuing risky shifts. ‘Ultimately, our economic strategy is about jobs, jobs and jobs. That’s our number one priority,’ he said.

The government has introduced new welfare measures, including the country’s first unemployment benefits and wider subsidies for food, utilities and education.

Wong also announced initiatives to help enterprises use AI more effectively, such as a job-matching platform and a government-backed traineeship programme for graduates.

Looking ahead, Wong said Singapore would draw up a new economic blueprint to secure its future in a world shaped by protectionism, climate challenges and changing energy needs.

After stronger-than-expected results in the first half of the year, the government recently raised its growth forecast for 2025 to between 1.5% and 2.5%.

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UK estate agents adopt AI tools to offset hiring challenges

UK property agents are increasingly leveraging AI and automation to tackle a growing skills shortage in the sector, according to an analysis by PropTech provider Reapit.

Reapit’s Property Outlook Report 2025 shows that although agencies continue hiring, most face recruitment difficulties: more than half receive fewer than five qualified applicants per vacancy. Growth in payrolled employees is minimal, and the slowest year-on-year rise since May 2021 reflects wider labour market tightness.

In response, agencies are turning to time-saving technologies. A majority report that automation is more cost-effective than expanding headcount, with nearly 80 percent citing increased productivity from these tools.

This shift towards PropTech and AI reflects deeper structural pressures in the UK real estate sector: high employment costs, slower workforce growth, and increasing demands for efficiency are reshaping the role of technology in agency operations.

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