SINGAPORE: In her speech on the first day of the Budget debate on Tuesday (Feb 24) Eileen Chong, a Non-constituency Member of Parliament from the Workers’ Party, spoke about Artificial Intelligence, noting that a significant portion of Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s Budget speech had focused on AI.
She warned, however, that based on a current study, adopting AI tools has not reduced people’s workload; instead, they consistently intensified it.
The NCMP urged the Government to ensure that productivity gains would translate into real human gains, such as shorter hours and more family time, rather than just more output.
While Ms Chong says she supports harnessing the technology as a strategic advantage, she talked about the reality of AI fatigue.
“It is the feeling that no matter how fast we learn, the ground is always shifting beneath us. It is the worry that tools meant to make us more productive, to make our lives easier, are actually leaving us with more to do,” she said, citing findings from an article in the Harvard Business Review.
While AI caused tasks to be accomplished faster, this made workers more reliant on the technology, and ended up giving employees more work to do. And with AI increasing workload expectations, this can bring about worker fatigue and burnout.
Therefore, with the call to embrace AI at work, Singaporeans are not only at risk for job displacement but job intensification, which Ms Chong compared to running “faster on the same treadmill.”
@thehammertok Livability in the Age of AI As Budget 2026 leans heavily into AI adoption and global competitiveness, we must ask: How does this translate into a better life for the average Singaporean? Drawing on an international study regarding the impact of AI on the workforce, NCMP Eileen Chong cautioned that productivity gains do not automatically become “human gains.” Without deliberate policy shifts, the efficiency found through AI often results in more tasks being added to a worker’s plate, rather than providing the relief they need. Eileen highlighted three pillars to ensure our national AI strategy serves our people’s well-being: 1️⃣ Time as a Design Goal: AI should not just add more tasks to an employee’s plate. It should be return time to Singaporeans so they can be present for their families and communities. 2️⃣ Capacity for Community: A “We First” society cannot exist on burnout. We need a budget that protects the time and energy required for Singaporeans to actually show up for one another and give them confidence to grow their families. 3️⃣ Space to Grow: Beyond economic competitiveness, we should ensure that our system provides the space for Singaporeans to grow, explore and become who they are meant to be. Our future is about more than just securing our competitiveness. It is about protecting our time—time for our children, our parents, and ourselves. As Singapore pushes for greater AI adoption, we must ensure technology is used to return time to our people, rather than simply demanding more from them. #wpsg #Parliament #WorkingForSingapore #SGBudget2026
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She said, “I urge the Government and all Singaporeans to think not just about how AI can make us more productive, but about how it can give us our time back. Singapore’s average full-time working week stands at nearly 44 hours, not including unpaid overtime hours.
This is among the highest in the developed world. Sixty-one per cent of Singaporean employees report feeling exhausted. Burnout costs the Singapore economy an estimated $15.7 billion annually in lost productivity.”
She also warned that productivity gains do not automatically benefit workers, and without policy choices, they tend to remain employer gains.
“If AI can automate routine tasks, what comes next should not only be what additional tasks can be added to an employee’s plate at work. Perhaps it is that they leave the office on time most days to have dinner with their families, and not only on quarterly Eat With Your Family Day,” she added.
Her speech can be viewed in full here.
Ms Chong is a former diplomat who served with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) for over six years. She joined the WP in the latter part of 2024, participating in house visits in Bedok Reservoir and Kovan.
In last year’s GE, she was fielded as part of the WP slate at Tampines. /TISG
Read also: In maiden speech in Parliament, WP NCMP Eileen Chong makes the case for embracing diverse viewpoints
