Lawrence Wong is the Prime Minister of Singapore, in office since May 15, 2024. He previously served as Minister for Finance from 2021 to 2024 and as Deputy Prime Minister before becoming head of government.
Positions and statements
At the May Day Rally on May 1, 2026, Wong addressed the labor effects of artificial intelligence, stating that "AI disruption will be faster than any prior wave" and that "the government may not be able to protect every job but will protect every worker" (Source: https://www.pmo.gov.sg/newsroom/pm-lawrence-wong-at-may-day-rally-2026/). The remarks have been characterized as one of the clearer statements by a national leader on AI workforce policy.
The "protect every worker, not every job" formulation is positioned as distinct from two alternative approaches. The first is job-preservation regimes, meaning sector-specific protections for incumbent roles, which Wong implicitly characterizes as unworkable given the speed of AI substitution. The second is pure market-adjustment regimes, which leave workers to find new employment on their own and which Wong implicitly rejects as politically and ethically untenable.
Singapore's existing labor and training infrastructure provides the institutional baseline that the "protect every worker" framing draws on, including SkillsFuture continuous-learning credits, sector-specific reskilling programs, and the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices. The framing connects to AI Labor Disruption and to first-party deployment evidence in the Anthropic Economic Index indicating that AI adoption is uneven across income, geography, and tenure.
Source
- Prime Minister's Office, Singapore — PM Lawrence Wong at May Day Rally 2026 (May 1, 2026): pmo.gov.sg
Relationships
- related: AI Labor Disruption, Singapore Model AI Governance Framework
- contradicts: "every job will be saved" framings; pure-market-adjustment framings