Singapore has launched a new strategy for the city nation to update its approach to smart technologies in the city, across industry, in health, education and society.

Smart Nation 2.0 updates Singapore’s previous digital strategy. The most prominent new features are an emphasis on AI and on building social cohesion and resilience.

The new strategy includes a S$120 million fund for AI adoption and a new agency to tackle online bullying and other harms.

Launching the updated smart strategy, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said: “we must ensure that our Smart Nation efforts benefit and uplift all segments of society”.

The S$120 million fund would be for an “AI for Science” initiative. It will be led by the country’s National Research Foundation (NRF) and will focus on developing AI tools to enhance research and scientific discovery.

The new fund will fund collaboration between AI researchers and scientists in areas earmarked by Singapore’s industrial strategy such as advanced materials research and biomedical and health sciences.

The government aims to encourage a new generation of researchers proficient in both AI technologies and scientific domains. The fund will also support greater collaboration between Singapore-based researchers and international counterparts.

To promote resilience, Singapore will introduce a new Digital Infrastructure Act in 2025. The new law will address increased cybersecurity risks and also a broader set of resilience and security risks across critical infrastructure, from technical misconfigurations to physical hazards such as fires and cooling system failures.