Why Singapore, Johor and Riau Islands should build a cross-border ecosystem for AI

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Cooperation is the best hope to anchor and unlock potential of region’s AI economy

Cooperation is the best hope to anchor and unlock potential of region’s AI economy

THE prospects of artificial intelligence attract interest and investment, but also concerns and contestation.

Demand for data centres has surged, with some stakeholders competing to attract them and others protesting against them. Can we reap the benefits of this new driver of the global economy while avoiding the pains?

Singapore and its nearest neighbours have a particular advantage in serving not just Asian markets, but also global ones. Submarine data cables connecting Asia and the wider world converge on Singapore, and extend to Johor and Indonesia’s Riau Islands.

This proximity enables low-latency connections for advanced computing and digital services, giving the region a head start in developing an AI economy.

But capturing the opportunity requires more than infrastructure, technology and investment. It needs a cross-border ecosystem that includes people, livelihoods, energy and water, to optimise the benefits and move forward sustainably.

Cross-border economic activities are already considerable; for instance, efforts to create the Sijori Growth Triangle – a partnership between Singapore, Johor and Indonesia’s Riau Islands – date back to the 1990s.

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Today’s opportunities are qualitatively different. Unlike the goals of the Sijori scheme, this is no longer simply a question of leveraging more land and labour.

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