Human judgment and intentional outcomes are vital in AI use: DBS CEO Tan Su Shan

SINGAPORE – Applying artificial intelligence is not enough – it has to be harnessed for intentional business and work outcomes, said DBS chief executive Tan Su Shan on Oct 12.

She was speaking at the inaugural DBS Asia Future Forward Conference at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Organised by DBS, the new flagship event brings together global leaders in technology, business and investment to examine the forces shaping the region’s future.

In this first edition, the focus was on AI and how such technology is transforming industries, business models and the nature of work.

Tan spoke about Asia’s emergence as a region and how it has proved that AI can be brought to everyday use cases, from enterprises to solving health issues to supporting finance.

“I think Asia’s proven and shown that we are able to use AI for good business outcomes and good human outcomes – whether it’s to help the elderly at home, whether it’s to redesign workflows,” she said during her opening address.

She added that simply applying AI is not good enough.

“We call that AI lipstick. That’s not going to work,” she said.

“What we have to do is we really have to rethink our workflows and our work processes so that we can truly unlock our potential. So just adding AI in it might help marginally, but it’s not going to change the way we work.”

Tan made these remarks in conjunction with the release of a DBS report on AI outcomes. The report noted that as AI capability becomes more widely available, technical advantage becomes harder to sustain.

“Competitive advantage increasingly depends on identifying important problems, earning the trust required for adoption and connecting intelligence to real-world outcomes,” it said.

The report said that businesses can start with the intended outcome.

“Redesign workflows, partnerships and operating systems around that outcome, then demonstrate that it improves organisational performance and delivers measurable value for customers,” it said.

It added that for Asia, the challenge is to turn regional strengths into shared advantage.

Tan also said in her speech that countries need to be better connected with one another, and mentioned agreements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, signed by 15 Asia-Pacific countries, and the Future of Investment and Trade Partnership, which was co-convened by New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates.

Better connections have to be made, even while countries become increasingly protectionist, Tan said.

She noted that AI depends on everyone trading with one another, because each country has its own niche area. For instance, Taiwan has the semiconductor foundries, South Korea has the memory components, and the raw materials come from China and South-east Asia.

“So if we don’t cooperate, we will continue to have blockages in our AI supply chain. Even if we want sovereignty, you need to have some trade cooperation,” Tan added.

“So stay connected, but keep your sovereignty with your models or data. We have sovereignty, but we also stay connected.”

She added that AI has created both visions of a dystopian future where technology takes over or a utopia where AI helps to solve many issues.

“What we need now is for humans to exercise good judgment, good wisdom, good creativity to ensure that this AI journey that we take together as a human race will take us up the right path,” Tan said.