SWITCH x AIII China-Singapore Technovation Ecosystem Summit for Sustainability
On November 11, 2021, 1300-1500 SGT, China-Singapore Technovation Ecosystem Summit for Sustainability was successfully held Singapore Week of Innovation and TeCHnology (SWITCH).
This summit was moderated by John Cai, Partner of SparkPlug Capital.
SUMMIT PART 1: 4 KEYNOTE SPEECHES
The summit started with the following keynote speeches from a diverse group of speakers from industry, education, research, and investment as follows:
"AI Innovation, Ethics, and Governance" by Dean Feng Tian, Intelligent Industry Research Institute??
Dean Feng Tian shared SenseTime's framework for AI Innovation, Ethics, and Governance based on 3 principles of "Sustainability," "Human-Centric Approach," and "Controllable Technology" to ensure the well-being of Humankind. He also cited examples in various industries such as education and healthcare and SenseTime's commitment, leadership, and strategy to develop her products and services to enable more and more applications towards meeting United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
"The Digital Transformation: Reimagining Jobs, Higher Education and Research Collaboration" by Prof Yeo Kiat Seng, Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), Associate Provost
Professor Yeo Kiat Seng from SUTD asserted that as "we are experiencing and riding on a wave of global economic uncertainty," education needs to change in order to enable a digital economy where students should be educated with cross-industry, cross-cultural training. He also articulated a new interesting and comprehensive model of E=MC2 linking Entrepreneurship, Market and Credit where Credit has 2 parallel meanings of "Creativity, Research, Enterprise, Digital, Innovation and Technology" and also, "Capital, Resource, Enabler, Data, Idea, and Talent."
"Management Challenge of Chinese High-tech Startups: Taking R&D Innovation as an Example" by Prof Xianghua Lu, School of Management at Fudan University
In her presentation on management challenges faced by China's Sci-Tech enterprises for innovation, Professor Lu Xiang Hua presented her view that in order for China to achieve the next phase of development and innovation, China will need to cultivate original innovation for her own sci-tech industry as their next phase of internationalization. This is an area Fudan University School of Management is currently developing with original Sci-Tech Innovation Management theories and courses with Chinese characteristics
"Vertex Global Innovation Partnerships and Cross Border Value Creation" by James Lee, Vertex Growth Fund, Managing Partner
Lastly, James Lee shared from the angle of investment on how Vertex approaches global innovation and cross-border collaboration and where he sees opportunities between China and Singapore. He also asserted that South-East Asia is an attractive and open market for many of China's technology companies who seek overseas expansion and internationalization where Cross-border partnerships and mutual open innovation would be crucial to delivering mutually beneficial outcomes.
SUMMIT PART 2: AI SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT REPORT RELEASE CEREMONY
Following that, as the second segment of the summit, SenseTime and Artificial Intelligence International Institute (AIII) held a ceremony by Feng Tian. Dean of Intelligent Industry Research Institute and Dr. James (Kayliang) Ong, Managing Director of AIII respectively where SenseTime, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Qing Yuan Research Institute, and Artificial Intelligence International Institute (AIII) jointly released the
?"AI Sustainable Development Report 2021-2022: AI Ethics for Balanced Development"?
and
?"Best Practice Cases"
SenseTime, Shanghai Open Source Technology Association, and Artificial Intelligence International Institute (AIII) also released their joint work on the
?"Best Practice Cases For The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals"
The release of these two reports demonstrates the organizations' commitment to promoting Ethical AI, Responsible AI, and Sustainable AI towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
During the launching ceremony, Feng Tian, Dean of Intelligent Industry Research Institute at SenseTime, and Dr. James Ong of Artificial Intelligence International Institute (AIII) shared their views on the report.
Dean Feng Tian shared the overview of the report and explained why "Artificial intelligence should be developed in a human-centric, controllable and sustainable way". He also reinforced SenseTime's positive progress towards its long-term goal of contributing towards the sustainable and ethical development of AI.?
Dr. James Ong expressed his appreciation that the release of this report is made possible via the consistent dialogue and collaboration that resulted in this concrete outcome enabled by the fusion of both Singapore and China tech ecosystems, i.e., Singapore Week of Innovation and TeCHnology (SWITCH) and World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) respectively. Also, he emphasized that the participation in this report matches the vision of Artificial Intelligence International Institute (AIII) to advocate "Sustainable AI for Humanity".
It is also with such dialogue to reach a deeper and meaningful understanding of critical issues such as AI Ethics that Artificial Intelligence International Institute (AIII) is able to participate and contribute towards this report initiated by SenseTime towards United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Follow this link to download the reports:
SUMMIT PART 3: ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION PANEL?
The summit was concluded with a round table discussion with the following panel speakers from diverse backgrounds in the industry, education, research, and investment. The dialogue was held to cover topics that are relevant to stakeholders from both China and Singapore ecosystems:
Yan Huang, Lantern Capital, Managing Partner?
As a veteran investor who knows both China and Singapore well, Mr. Yan Huang shared his insights and experience to advise how Singapore tech companies want to enter China and that there are areas where Singapore tech companies have some unique value-add while other areas such as software will face stiff competition. He also elaborated how investment funds could collaborate more between the two countries.
Bright Yang, 6789group, Vice GM
With his extensive experience with global multi-national firms and tech startups at 6789 Group, Mr. Bright Yang shared his views on what and how global tech companies should do when entering the China market. He particularly emphasized the importance of strategic positioning. He also gave an overview of the various services 6789 Group offers to help these companies into China, and also, they offer to help China tech companies to go overseas, especially market like Singapore and ASEAN.
Christopher Lim, GleeTrees, Co-Founder and CEO
As one of the leading AI tech entrepreneurs, Christopher Lim, shared his thoughts and experience on expanding into the Chinese market, as well as the difference compared with the Singaporean market where he mentioned the 3S of "Speed, Scale, and Shared Values" as key elements needed to be successful in China. He also articulated his view about technical comparison. Differences between Singapore and China's deep tech companies where he highlighted that market segmentation and approach are different where in China, the big tech tends to offer a similar solution to grow market share while in Singapore, there is a strong emphasis on deep tech with government, private and education institutions. Nevertheless. The similarity at both markets is the focus on solving customer problems using technologies.
Dr. James (Kayliang) Ong, Artificial Intelligence International Institute (AIII), Founder and Managing Director
Last but not least, based on his 20 years of experience navigating cross-border between Singapore and China, Dr. James Ong pointed out the three unique advantages of Singapore as the great landing point for China tech companies for global expansion. First of all, he emphasized that Singapore has unique root as the maritime silk road for the past 700 years to foster cross-border cross-cultural, cross-language exchanges and as a melting pot between Asia regional economies. Second, he articulated that Singapore has a solid foundation as financial services and logistics center with the maturing and vibrant tech ecosystem cultivated by Enterprise Singapore and Monitory Authority of Singapore （MAS） in the past 10 years. Third. he also brought up the soft power of Singapore in the areas of research and talents with universities like NUS, NTU, SUTD, SMU, SUSS, etc., research institutes like ASTAR, and the overall focus on talent development program training and attracting best brains from all over the world.?
Dr. James Ong also shared his holistic observation on where the bilateral collaboration between the two tech ecosystems are progressing in terms of industry, education, research, and investment where industry and education collaboration is progressing well while there are a lot more opportunities to grow on research and investment front.
John Cai, who moderated the entire summit, concluded with his closing statements that China and Singapore share longstanding and broad-based bilateral relations. The two countries have many things in common, and the two nations can learn from each other by sharing the experiences and challenges of economic and social governance. Many of Singapore's social governance practices are still a role model for China, while China is currently creating unprecedented momentum in innovation empowered by its huge market and inclusiveness.
This summit is a continuation of the "China-Singapore Technology and Innovation" series of dialogue events, with the last one held in Shanghai on July 10, 2021, at the World AI Conference (WAIC). It was conducted in a hybrid online-offline format organized by SWITCH, Donghao Lansheng, and Artificial Intelligence International Institute (AIII).
SWITCH x AIII: 中新科创生态高峰论坛双11圆满举行
2021年11月11日13：00-15：00 SGT，新加坡科技创新周(SWITCH)中新科创生态高峰论坛成功举办。
本次论坛由智迪资本合伙人蔡炯先生主持。
论坛环节一：主题演讲
论坛的第一环节，来自“产学研投“领域的资深人士发表了主题演讲，内容如下:
“人工智能创新发展与伦理治理”，SenseTime商汤科技智能产业研究院田丰院长
田丰院长分享了商汤科技基于“可持续发展”、“以人为本”和“技术可控”三大核心原则的人工智能创新、伦理和治理框架，使人工智能不断造福大众和增进社会福祉。他还列举了商汤科技在教育、医疗等多个行业的实践案例，以及商汤科技在开发产品和服务方面的承诺、领导力和战略，使越来越多的应用能够实现联合国可持续发展目标(SDGs)。
“数字转型：重构工作、高等教育与研究合作”，新加坡科技与设计大学(SUTD)副校长杨杰圣教授
杨杰圣教授认为，全球经济面临不确定性，教育需要做出改变，以实现数字经济，学生应该接受跨行业、跨文化培训的教育。他还阐述了一个新颖有趣而全面的E=MC2模型，将创业(Entrepreneurship)、资本与市场(Money & Market)和信用(Credit)联系在一起，同时他也进一步细化信用(Credit)的含义，用了两个平行意思来表达。第一个含义是创造力(Creativity)、研究(Research)、企业(Enterprise)、数字(Digital)、创新(Innovation)和技术(Technology)，第二个含义是资本(Capital)、资源(Resource)、赋能者（Enabler)、数据(Data)、想法(Idea)和人才(Talent)。
“中国科创企业的管理挑战与应对:以研发管理为例”，复旦大学管理学院卢向华教授
在关于中国科技企业创新面临的管理挑战的演讲中，卢向华教授认为,为了使中国实现下一阶段的发展和创新，中国需要培育自己原始创新的科技产业，为中国科技企业在下一个阶段国际化发展做准备。这是复旦大学管理学院目前正在开发的具有中国特色的原创科技创新管理理论和课程。
“Vertex全球创新伙伴关系与跨境价值创造”，祥峰成长基金管理合伙人李志伟
最后，李志伟先生从投资的角度分享了Vertex如何进行全球创新和跨境合作，以及他认为中国和新加坡之间的机遇在哪里。他还表示，东南亚对许多寻求海外扩张和国际化的中国科技公司来说是一个有吸引力和开放的市场，跨境合作和相互开放创新对实现互利共赢至关重要。
论坛环节2：AI可持续发展报告发布仪式
论坛第二环节，由SenseTime商汤科技智能产业研究院田丰院长和AIII人工智能国际研究院院长翁家良博士为代表举行发布仪式。
商汤科技联合上海交通大学清源研究院、威麟AIII人工智能国际研究院共同发布：
《平衡发展AI伦理观 —— AI可持续发展报告 2021-2022》
与可持续发展报告同期发布的，还有由商汤科技与上海开源信息技术协会、AIII人工智能国际研究院共同倡议构建的
《联合国可持续发展目标正面案例集》
这些报告的发布是双方在人工智能伦理观、负责任人工智能和可持续人工智能方面共同核心价值观的结果，以推动实现联合国可持续发展目标。
在发布仪式上，商汤科技智能产业研究院田丰院长和AIII人工智能国际研究院院长翁家良博士分别报告分享了他们的观点。
田丰院长阐述了报告的目的和内容，解释了为什么“人工智能应该以人为中心、可控和可持续的方式发展”，并分享了商汤科技朝着为人工智能的可持续和伦理发展这个长期目标做出贡献方面取得的积极进展。
翁家良博士表示本报告的成果发布是通过新中两大科创生态，“新加坡科技创新周 (SWITCH)” 和“世界人工智能大会 ( WAIC)”的融合下，经过持续的交流和协同促成的具体成果。此外，他也强调参与本报告非常符合AIII人工智能国际研究院倡导“以人为本的可持续人工智能”的愿景。
也正是通过这样的对话，才能对人工智能伦理等关键问题达成更深入、更有意义的理解。使AIII人工智能国际研究院能有效参与由商汤科技发起的这份报告，一起贡献和实现联合国可持续发展目标(SDGs)。
完整报告请浏览以下链接进行下载:
论坛环节三：圆桌研讨会
论坛最后一个环节圆桌会议，与会嘉宾来自“产学研投”不同领域，对话涵盖了与中国和新加坡生态系统利益攸关方相关的议题。
黄岩，领中资本管理合伙人
作为对中国和新加坡两地都有着丰富经验的资深投资者，黄岩先生分享了他的见解和经验，为想来中国发展的新加坡优秀科创企业提供建议，他认为新加坡科技公司在一些领域有独特的增值，而软件等其他领域将面临激烈竞争。同时他还详细阐述了两国投资基金如何开展更多合作。
杨亮，六七八九集团副总经理
杨亮先生在6789集团拥有丰富的跨国公司和科技创业经验，他分享了他对国际科创企业进入中国市场时应该做什么和如何做的一些观点，也特别强调了战略定位的重要性。他还概述了6789集团帮助这些公司进入中国提供的各种服务，也帮助中国科技公司走向海外，尤其是新加坡和东盟市场。
林子坤，烨鼎科技联合创始人与首席执行官
作为一位人工智能科技企业CEO,林子坤先生分享了他对开拓中国市场与新加坡市场区别的想法和经验，他提到“速度、规模和共同价值观”的3S是在中国取得成功的关键因素。他还阐述了他对新加坡和中国深度科技公司的技术比较和差异的看法，他强调，在中国市场细分和方法是不同的，国内一些大型科技公司通常是提供解决方案来增加市场份额，而在新加坡，政府、私人和教育机构都非常重视深度技术。不过，这两个市场的相似之处在于，它们都专注于利用技术解决客户问题。
翁家良博士，AIII人工智能国际研究院创始人与院长
James Ong翁博士在新加坡和中国之间20多年的经验，他指出新加坡作为中国科技公司全球扩张的重要着陆点有三个独特的优势：首先，他指出新加坡作为过去700年海上丝绸之路的独特根基，促进了跨区域，跨文化、跨语言的交流，是亚洲区域经济的大熔炉。其次，他强调新加坡作为金融服务和物流中心有着坚实的基础，新加坡企业发展局和新加坡监管局(MAS)在过去10年培育了成熟和充满活力的科技生态系统。最后，他提出新加坡在科研和人才培育的软实力，有全球顶尖的学府如新加坡国立大学NUS、南洋理工大学NTU、新加坡科技设计大学SUTD、新加坡管理大学SMU、新跃社科大学SUSS等大学，以及像ASTAR这样的国家级研究机构，并全面注重人才发展计划的培养和吸引世界各地的优秀人才。
翁博士也分享了他对中新两大科技生态系统在“产学研投”方面的双边合作进展的整体观察，其中产业和教育合作进展良好，而在研究和投资方面有更多的合作发展机会。
蔡炯先生主持整个峰会，他在最后总结中表示，中新两国有着长期而广泛的双边关系，两国有许多共同之处，两国可以通过分享经济和社会治理的经验和挑战来相互学习。新加坡的许多社会治理实践仍然是中国的榜样，而中国正凭借其巨大的市场和包容性创造着前所未有的创新动力。
本次峰会是“中新科技与创新”系列活动的延续，上一届峰会是由SWITCH、东浩兰生和AIII人工智能国际研究院联合主办的世界人工智能大会（WAIC）分论坛“中新创新与科技高峰论坛”，采用线上线下混合形式于2021年7月10日在上海世博中心举行。