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IMDA gets top spot in the Ethical Dimensions of the Information Society category at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) forum

Singapore won a top award at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum on Tuesday (Apr 9) for its efforts in artificial intelligence (AI) ethics and governance.

The Info-communications Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA) won top spot in the Ethical Dimensions of the Information Society category, beating four other finalists including two from the United States, according to a press release by the agency.

The initiatives that contributed to the win include: Asia’s first model AI governance framework that was released in January; an international and industry-led advisory council on the ethical use of AI and data formed last June; and a research programme on the governance of AI and data use established in partnership with the Singapore Management University last September.

The WSIS prizes recognise outstanding digital projects globally, and the winners of the 18 categories were announced during an award ceremony at the annual WSIS Forum held in Geneva, Switzerland. IMDA’s assistant chief executive for data protection and innovation Yeong Zee Kin received the award on the agency’s behalf.

“Singapore’s win of the WSIS Award is affirmation of our approach that AI practices must be transparent, explainable and fair,” said Communications and Information Minister S Iswaran in the press release.

“These are important principles that will guide businesses in implementing AI solutions that are human-centric, while spurring innovation in a digital economy.”

There were 1,140 nominations sent in globally for the categories and, of these, 20 projects per category were selected to the second phase of online voting. The top five were then judged by an expert panel before the winner for each category was selected.

The WSIS Forum is a platform co-organised by the International Telecommunications Union, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UN Development Programme and UN Conference on Trade and Development.

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