How Singapore navigates a fragmented world

Singapore is a small country at a crossroads. With close ties to both the US and China, it’s become a hub for finance, trade and technology. Singapore’s president Tharman Shanmugaratnam sits down with Ian Bremmer to talk about the island’s role in a shifting global order. The world is facing “radical uncertainty” and transactionalism, but the challenge is not to sit back and be intimidated. The US and China have an important role, but small and medium-sized countries can also play a part.

Shanmugaratnam believes we need to construct a new world order that addresses shared challenges in areas like trade and climate, while looking out for the well-being of their own people. One way that Singapore is future-proofing its economy is a national focus on AI and development of human capital. Singapore is a global tech hub, with nearly 60% AI diffusion. But the benefits of AI need to be distributed evenly across society, so Singapore is proactively preparing its workforce, particularly white-collar workers, for disruptions from AI to keep its economy competitive.

“Every city or economy that's more exposed to AI is going to face a challenge,” says President Shanmugaratnam “Singapore’s advantage, however, is that we are small, we are very open, and we rely on technology as a source of competitiveness.”