KPMG and NLB Launch Read to Lead Programme to Build AI-Ready Workforce
Source: The Manila Times (Media OutReach)
Only 4 in 10 Singapore professionals are confident in their ability to distinguish accurate content from AI-generated misinformation, according to a new poll by KPMG and the National Library Board. In response, the two organisations have launched Read to Lead, a year-long initiative to embed focused reading as a core workplace skill in the AI era.
Only 4 in 10 Singapore professionals are confident they can tell accurate content apart from AI-generated misinformation, according to a joint poll by KPMG in Singapore and the National Library Board (NLB). The findings, drawn from 1,150 professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) surveyed between June and July 2026, reveal a significant gap between the demands of the AI era and the critical thinking habits of the workforce.
Less than half of respondents said they would verify the original source of a statistic before forming an opinion, even when reading an AI-generated summary in search engines. The poll was designed to assess whether Singapore professionals critically evaluate information in an environment where generative AI outputs are becoming ubiquitous across both professional and personal contexts.
Against this backdrop, KPMG and NLB have launched Read to Lead: Building an AI-Ready Mind, a year-long initiative officially launched by Ms Rahayu Mahzam, Minister of State at the Ministry of Digital Development and Information. The programme aims to bring focused reading into the workplace, equipping PMETs and business leaders with professional discernment skills for an era when not all information can be taken at face value.
The initiative includes workshops such as Be S.U.R.E with AI conducted by NLB, which covers the pros and cons of large language models and agentic AI, the latest trends in AI-related falsehoods and scams, and practical techniques for applying the S.U.R.E. (Source, Understand, Research, Evaluate) framework to AI-generated content. The programme marks the start of a concerted push to embed focused reading as a core professional capability across Singapore's workforce.
Why it matters for Singapore: As Singapore positions itself as a global AI hub, this initiative tackles a blind spot in the nation's AI readiness: the human capacity to critically evaluate AI-generated information. With AI becoming embedded in everything from workplace tools to search engines, building discernment skills across the PMET workforce is as important as technical AI training. The programme reflects a growing recognition that an AI-ready workforce needs not just coding skills but stronger critical thinking and information literacy.