Singapore's AI safety labels, India's digital courts, and North Macedonia tackles its grey economy

Edition #91 In a week where the EU AI Pact takes a crucial step in establishing ethical AI frameworks, we look at broad AI use cases from Singapore to the UK...

Last edition, we explored how governments are advancing digital payments through innovations like blockchain for grant disbursement.

This week, as the EU AI Pact takes a crucial step in establishing ethical AI frameworks that balance innovation with risk management, transparency, safety, and human rights, we shift our focus to the responsible use of AI in government.

Our main stories this week include:

• Singapore evaluates a “Safety label” mandate to indicate AI risks and testing

• A case study of the usage of AI in Whitehall (the UK Civil Service)

As a reminder, we have recently begun to expand our digital government coverage away from just Substack and onto Linkedin, Twitter, and Instagram. For original content, audience engagement, and roundups of all our pieces, feel free to follow us over on those channels. Also check out our sister newsletter, interweave.africa.

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“Safety labels” that clearly indicate AI risks and testing on the cards in Singapore - Osmond Chia, The Straits Times

Singapore is moving towards requiring “Safety labels” that clearly state how various forms of AI should be used, their risks and how they were tested, as part of upcoming guidelines to make the technology easier to understand.

• The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) will start consultations with industry on the guidelines, which it aims to roll out by early 2025 to sectors including healthcare and financial services, according to a spokesman for IMDA

• The guidelines will make clear the safety benchmarks that will need to be tested before a form of AI is deployed, covering risks such as falsehoods, toxic statements and biased content.

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Whitehall and AI: how can government move from promising pilots to real results? - Sameer Aiyar-Majeed & Matthew Gill, Institute for Government

A look at the usage of AI in Whitehall (the British Civil Service) from the Institute of Government.

• Though many different AI pilots are taking place across government, the report focuses on legacy systems - such as those for pensions and policing – which are holding potential progress back in integrating advanced technologies within the UK government.

• As a result, while early pilot results have been positive, the report questions their potential to succeed at scale.

• Elsewhere, pilots to-date have identified the need for a “human in the loop” as a necessary - but not always on its own sufficient - requirement for maintaining public trust in AI systems.

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GovTech News in Brief

Transport for London outages drag into weekend after cyberattack - Zack Whittaker, TechCrunch

Transport for London, the body overseeing the UK capital’s public transit system, experienced online outages due to an “ongoing cyber security incident” which dragged into the weekend.

A 17-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the cyber security incident, according to the country’s National Crime Agency (NCA).

SingHealth pilots GPT tool for clinician notes to improve patient-doctor interactions - Si Ying Thian, GovInsider

SingHealth has begun piloting Note Buddy, a generative AI-powered tool that summarizes doctor-patient conversations in real time and organizes them into clinical notes to improve patient-doctor interactions and reduce administrative workload.

Kerala’s 24x7 ON Courts is a big judicial reform. It will transform the magistrates’ court - Renuka Sane, ThePrint

The Indian State of Kerala is set to launch the “24×7 ON” initiative for its courts, designed to digitalize and streamline the court process. The trial will begin with cheque-bouncing cases.

Indonesia plans limited release of INA Digital Services - Mochamad Azhar, GovInsider

Indonesia’s launch of three main INA Digital features - basic digital services, government administration services and digital identity - aims to streamline features and source user feedback before general release.

Turkish Minister confirms e-govt system was hacked in pandemic - Hamdi Firat Buyuk, BalkanInsight

Abdulkadir Uraloglu, Turkey’s Minister for Transportation and Infrastructure, has confirmed that citizen data was stolen during the pandemic from the online government services system, E-Devlet.

North Macedonia, digitalization against the grey economy - Aleksandar Samardjiev, Osservatorio balcani e caucaso transeuropa

North Macedonia’s new government has launched an ambitious plan to use digitalization to more effectively combat the sizeable “grey economy” in the country (such as a lack of VAT being paid) – which some estimates place at over 20% of North Macedonia’s economy.

Azerbaijan embarks on digital transformation with “paperless government” initiative - Turan

Azerbaijan has launched a "paperless government" initiative as part of its digital transformation strategy, aiming to reduce environmental impact, improve government efficiency, and integrate sustainable practices through digital innovation ahead of the COP29 summit.

Our Take: Azerbaijan’s digital government journey has been understated but impressive. Around 500 government services have already been digitized through Azerbaijan's National E-Government Platform, saving approximately 2,000 trees annually and enhancing digital document sharing across various sectors.

Thai government adjusts digital wallet handout plan to include cash payments - FinTech News Singapore

The Thai government has adjusted its 10,000 baht digital wallet scheme to include cash payments alongside digital credits, amid ongoing system development and fiscal concerns.

Our Take: As we previously highlighted, the government's digital wallet rollout has faced technical challenges and public confusion. This shift to include cash payments suggests a pragmatic adjustment to ensure smoother implementation, though it remains unclear how effectively the digital system will integrate with these changes moving forward.

Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry launches digital authentication for birth, marriage and death certificates - Times Online

Sri Lanka's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has launched a digital authentication service for birth, marriage, and death certificates, allowing citizens to apply online to receive authenticated documents via email, improving public access and efficiency by eliminating the need for in-person visits.

Australian government announces next steps for safe, responsible AI in government - Australian Government Digital Transformation Agency

Australia has begun implementing its “policy for the responsible use of AI in government” across government ministries, including designating accountable officials and mandating AI transparency statements.

Our Take: While we tend to focus on AI’s capabilities, it’s also important to remember this is still a new technology. An experiment by the Australian government earlier this year found that humans were still better at summarizing than their AI counterparts, with models often outputting wordy and insufficiently nuanced analysis. To that end, it’s critical to ensure that a clear AI policy is used to protect government and citizens.

Japan’s Digital Agency research unit learns from overseas peers to drive change - Yogesh Hirdaramani, GovInsider

In a wide-ranging interview with Japan’s Digital Agency research unit, GovInsider highlights the country’s approach of looking abroad to find best practices in digital transformation from other countries in fields such as inclusivity, diversity, AI, and local government collaboration.

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The Theory Behind the Practice

Accelerating urban development in Indonesia through online government services - David Kevin Handel Hutabarat, Universitas Sumatera Utara

Digital transformation is accelerating urban development across Indonesia by improving efficiency and quality of life, with success depending on citizens' technological proficiency and understanding, as well as government officials' ability to implement online services through proper training, incentives, and openness to innovation.

Public servants tip AI as the top tech to boost productivity - Sarah Wray, Global Government Forum

Global Government Forum’s latest report highlights that although public servants face significant productivity challenges, many government organizations have been slow to adopt AI measures which could significantly impact it. For example, despite 80% believing that advanced technologies could drive productivity improvements, just 31% have introduced it in the past year.

A sustainable future within reach with the promise of digital transformation - Oleh Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana & Zhaslan Madiyev, GovInsider

Digital transformation is poised to help deliver a more sustainable future (including up to $80bn in saved energy cost), writes the Under-Secretary-General of the UN and Kazakhstan’s Digital Minister, in advance of the publishing of Asia-Pacific Digital Transformation Report 2024 (read the full report here).