Why Singapore sees AI as an opportunity, not a threat
February 03, 2026
Highlights from the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer weekly television show.
Presented by
AI isn’t just a technology transformation, he says, it’s a people transformation. To ensure its benefits are felt evenly, the government is investing in skills upgrading to prepare its population for the technological shifts to come. Singapore’s model, he explains, has always been about ecosystem building: letting markets lead while the state works closely to anticipate change, support workers, and expand human capabilities. Singapore’s government wants to invest in people, so that AI isn’t something that happens to workers, it’s something that’s built with them.
“If you think about this challenge, not as a threat from a new technology, but a challenge of how to maximize human capital,” Shanmugaratnam says, “If you build up people’s capabilities, it works out for them and for your whole economy.”
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).
Keep up with what’s going on around the world - and why it matters.