Most popular GovInsider stories, February 2024

By Si Ying Thian

From Indonesia's digital ID leap to Singapore's AI ventures, the most read stories in February have been a whirlwind of innovation.

GovInsider's February top reads. Image: Canva.

February's most read stories range from how tech is shaping citizen experiences, the rise of smart towns in Southeast Asia, Singapore’s green computing aspirations, to the world’s first adult learning collaboratory. Dive into stories of transformation as governments reimagine public services and embrace futuristic solutions.

1. Behind the scenes of digital ID roll-out in one of the world’s most populous countries

Indonesia has set itself an ambitious goal – to digitalise more than 200 million identities by June 2024. The Indonesian Government is looking to collaborate on all fronts – interagency and cross-borders – to accelerate the realisation of Indonesia’s Identitas Kependudukan Digital (IKD) or Digital Population Identity.

The Digital Population Identity (IKD), commonly known as the Digital ID, is a programme of the Directorate General of Population and Civil Registration (Dukcapil) at Indonesia's Ministry of Home Affairs. It aims to make it easier for millions of citizens to access government services. Image: Dukcapil.

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2. Generative AI on full blast in Singapore

The Singapore Government continues to ramp up its generative AI ambitions, following the success of a partnership with Google that aimed to create 100 AI solutions in 100 days. Now that the first run of the programme is ending, the Government and Google will be deepening their partnership to drive 150 more solutions, support AI startups, and train AI talent.

Josephine Teo, Minister for Communications and Information with Google executives, and participating organisations of the AI Trailblazers initiative. Image: Google Cloud.

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3. Red dot to become a green computing hub

Must a smart nation come at the cost of sustainability? Singapore aims to drive both digital and sustainability goals with freshly unveiled green computing initiatives. Beyond data centres, the Singapore Government has unveiled a slew of initiatives to drive Singapore's status as a global green computing hub.

Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information, Dr Janil Puthucheary delivering the opening address at the SCS Sustainable Tech Forum. Image: Singapore Computer Society.

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4. Smart towns taking hold in Southeast Asia

Nusantara, Indonesia’s future capital city, wants to be “livable and lovable,” but this stands in stark contrast with the reality of smoky Jakarta. Starting with smart towns may just be the panacea to Southeast Asia’s urban planning complexity woes, says Marko Kanadi from NEC.

Instead of tech for tech's sake, smart towns focus on the citizen needs that these technologies actually serve. Image: NEC.

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5. Singapore to take lead on the world’s first adult learning collaboratory

As workforce demands evolve at flash speed, how will training and development for workers keep up with the pace? The world’s first adult learning collaboratory is targeting research and more closely knitted industry partnerships to bridge gaps in remaining inclusive and ensuring taught skills are up-to-date.