Navigating the governance challenges of disruptive technologies: insights from regulation of autonomous systems in Singapore

The proliferation of autonomous systems like unmanned aerial vehicles, autonomous vehicles and AI-powered industrial and social robots can benefit society significantly, but these systems also present significant governance challenges in operational, legal, economic, social, and ethical dimensions. Singapore’s role as a front-runner in the trial of autonomous systems presents an insightful case to study whether the current provisional regulations address the challenges. With multiple stakeholder involvement in setting provisional regulations, government stewardship is essential for coordinating robust regulation and helping to address complex issues such as ethical dilemmas and social connectedness in governing autonomous systems.