Restrictions for Use of DeepSeek by Public Officers

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Digital Development and Information (a) whether the Government is considering restrictions on the use of DeepSeek by public officers, similar to bans imposed by some other countries on its use on Government devices; (b) if not, what factors justify a different approach in Singapore; and (c) how does the Government determine which AI models are deemed secure enough for public sector use.

The Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information (Dr Janil Puthucheary) (for Minister for Digital Development and Information): Sir, the Government has policies, frameworks and processes to guide the use of technology in the public sector, including emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI). This allows us to evaluate the suitability of technologies for different use cases, based on factors such as performance, security and resilience. This enables public sector agencies to use innovative technologies effectively while ensuring the security and reliability of government operations and functions.

We regularly review and update our policies to address the evolving technological landscape and security considerations.

Mr Speaker: Mr Giam.

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song (Aljunied): Sir, I thank the Senior Minister of State for his reply. I note that he did not address my question regarding DeepSeek. I would appreciate if he could address that more directly.

Secondly, I some supplementary questions for him. I understand that the Government has developed Pair, which is a suite of AI tools that utilise large language models for internal use within the Public Service. Could the Senior Minister of State clarify if Pair is primarily using locally deployed open source models or does it connect to commercial AI platforms, like ChatGPT and DeepSeek that process data on foreign servers?

Dr Janil Puthucheary: Sir, I thank Mr Giam for his questions. The Government does not generally comment on specific commercial products. We advise companies to evaluate products on their own merits and the risks of use, including their compliance with relevant laws.

Pair does indeed access large language models, but it does not access only one. The specific details of Pair, I do not have them on hand. If Mr Giam is interested in the technical details, I would be happy to follow up with him offline or he can file a subsequent Parliamentary Question.