Human Oversight Vital to AI Accountability

The Singapore Institute of Technology‘s AI Center recently welcomed the National Press Foundation’s International Trade Journalism Fellowship program, where institute officials stressed that AI’s ethical application requires human judgment.

In a wide-ranging discussion with NPF’s 25 visiting journalists, Professors Donny Soh and Ian McLoughlin said human involvement is how “trust is kept.”

The AI Center, opened last year at the institute’s new Punggol campus, is in the midst of training 200 artificial intelligence specialists in the next three years to bolster the local workforce.

Citing 2025 McKinsey & Company research indicating that 88% of organizations were using artificial intelligence for at least one business function, the professors pointed to notable gaps in realizing the technology’s full potential.

The same report indicated that just more than a third of organizations had deployed the technology across the enterprise.

Last month, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who strongly supported the institute’s expansion to include the AI Center, described AI’s application as a “game changer” where there are existing labor shortages, including in Singapore, The Straits Times reported.

“The key is really to embed AI and start thinking about how it transforms processes across all organizations, and that will take time,” Wong said.

This fellowship is part of an ongoing program of journalism training and awards for trade coverage sponsored by the Hinrich Foundation. The National Press Foundation is solely responsible for the content. Resources and transcripts are available to journalists worldwide.