SINGAPORE – Businesses should use artificial intelligence to solve operational problems and raise productivity among workers rather than replace them, said Desmond Tan, deputy secretary-general of National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), as he reiterated the labour movement’s push for AI adoption without jobless growth.
Speaking on July 22 at the launch of Singapore-headquartered digital commerce firm Synagie’s new AI platform, Tan said companies should identify business pain points before deciding whether AI is the right solution.
Good execution must begin with identifying a real business problem, he said, adding that for some small and medium-sized enterprises, “one of the challenges is not knowing where to start. And they started adopting AI because it is the latest thing”.
AI should be introduced alongside investments in workers through job redesign and skills upgrading, said Tan, who is also Senior Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office.
The AI platform Geene 2.0 was developed by Synagie with 12 partners, including home-grown companies BytePlus, SingData and FLY Entertainment, and Hong Kong-based China Mobile International.
The platform combines capabilities such as data analysis, strategy recommendations, content generation, workflow automation and blockchain-based product verification. It will be commercially available from early August.
Synagie showcased Malaysian premium brand AGONG Durian as a case study during the event.
The company said Geene 2.0 analyses data such as daily durian supply, competitor pricing and market signals to recommend business strategies, while also generating marketing content and automating customer engagement.
Each durian is tagged using blockchain technology, allowing consumers to scan a code to verify details such as its origin, harvest information and delivery journey.
Synagie said the same framework – as used in the case of AGONG Durian – can be applied across industries including retail, consumer goods and luxury products where authenticity, compliance and trust are key.
Malaysian brand AGONG Durian used Geene 2.0 to analyse data such as daily durian supply, while generating marketing content, among other functions.
PHOTO: SYNAGIE
Tan said successful AI adoption also requires companies, workers and the Government to work together.
Synagie recently became a unionised company and signed a collective agreement with the Singapore Industrial and Services Employees’ Union, enabling it to work with NTUC on workforce development and business transformation initiatives.
Tan added that eligible companies can tap the NTUC Company Training Committee grant, which provides funding support of up to 70 per cent for qualifying business transformation projects involving job redesign, skills development and productivity improvement.
He said NTUC’s approach remains clear: “It is not AI instead of workers. It is AI that works for workers.”
