Are employers offering ethical AI training to Singaporeans?

Almost 80% of workers polled said their firms have no policies for generative AI.

Singaporean employees may have used generative AI for their tasks but the majority (63%) of them revealed they are untrained in the ethical or safe use of the tech.

According to a recent survey from YouGov and commissioned by Salesforce, 78% said their companies have no clear policies on how AI can be used for their respective jobs. 

As this happens, two in five Singaporeans (40%) are already using and experimenting with generative AI, Salesforce’s study also showed. Of the 40%, 93% indicated that it has made them more productive at work.

Here are the top three practices most associated with using generative AI safely that Singaporean workers identified:

○ Only using company-approved generative AI tools/programmes (51%)
○ Never using confidential company data in prompts for generative AI tools (47%)
○ Never using personally identifiable customer data in prompts for generative AI tools (45%)

Over 76% who use and experiment with generative AI at work have “utilised it to complete a work task and presented it as their own work, with 53% having done so multiple times.” 

Only one in two (48%) workers who use and experiment with generative AI at work confessed to using a generative AI platform that their employer has banned. 

Overall, the study showed that the lack of training in using generative AI effectively (38%) is the top challenge preventing Singaporean workers from using it more.

The report used online survey responses of 1,044 Singaporeans aged 18 and above between 24 July and 3 August 2023. The respondents were full-time office workers who work in a business with at least one other employee.