Singapore chats up Microsoft bots in smart nation initiative ZDNet

Singapore is looking to tap artificial intelligence technology to enable more natural and simpler interactions with its e-government services. Led by industry regulator Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), the new initiative would see the use of Microsoft's "conversations as a platform" pitch to explore opportunities in developing the country's next-generation government services based on "conversational computing". According to Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister-in-Charge of Smart Nation Vivian Balakrishnan, IDA and Microsoft would co-develop "chatbots" to support selected public services. These intelligence software tools would assume the role of digital representatives, simulating human behaviour, and enable interactions that were more user-friendly and consistent, said the minister, who announced the new initiative at this week's World Cities Summit. New proof-of-concepts would be built to integrate conversational intelligence into public services, with efforts focused on making these more "anticipatory" and engaging for the general public.