Singapore - the most ready country to adopt AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is set to dramatically transform the global economy, revolutionizing everything from labor markets to digital infrastructure and supply chains, according to a visualcapitalist.com analysis.

This brings into focus an index measured by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which shows that nearly 40% of global employment is exposed to AI, with certain industries more exposed to AI-based automation than others.

The AI Adoption Readiness Index measured by the IMF for the year 2023 covers a total of 174 countries and is based on data from eight institutions, including the International Labor Organization, the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, etc.

According to the scores included in the IMF index, Singapore ranks first as the most prepared country for the smooth adoption of AI. The country, which has a score of 0.80, has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in boosting AI capabilities and supporting national profile strategies. Singaporean workers are also the fastest in the world to adopt AI capabilities, according to LinkedIn.

Singapore's government has even developed a suite of general-purpose AI tools for civil servants that adhere to strict security standards, according to the source.

After Singapore, Denmark (score 0.78), USA (0.77), Netherlands (0.77), Estonia (0.76), Finland (0.76), Switzerland (0.76) are in the ranking , New Zealand (0.75), Germany (0.75), Sweden (0.75). Places 11-20 look like this: Luxembourg (0.74), Japan (0.73), Great Britain (0.73), Australia (0.73), South Korea (0.73), Israel (0.73 ), Austria (0.72), Canada (0.71), Norway (0.71), Hong Kong (0.70). Romania is in 41st place, with a score of 0.58, from which Greece, Croatia, Bulgaria and Saudi Arabia also benefit.

Separately, a McKinsey report refers to nine "digital leaders", namely: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Luxembourg, Norway, Ireland and Belgium, as being well prepared for AI adoption due to advanced digital infrastructure, a skilled workforce, policy environments that support this transition, and high levels of corporate AI adoption.

Several of these European countries have also been among the early adopters of national AI strategies in the world, such as Finland's 2017 AI strategy aimed at increasing business competitiveness and data efficiency, namely the "National Approach to Artificial Intelligence " of Sweden in 2018, which focuses on education, research and infrastructure development.

The AI adoption readiness index measured by the IMF is the average of four key parameters: digital infrastructure; human capital; technological innovation; legal frameworks, which, in turn, include a set of sub-indicators.