How Not To Use AI Is A Skill Singapore Must Master

Artificial intelligence is here to stay. Knowing when not to use it is as vital as knowing how.

- Lim Sun Sun

In a speech heavy on nostalgia as Prime Minister Lawrence Wong recalled the simpler, halcyon days of his youth, the undercurrent of uncertainty and disruption was equally strong. As his former schoolmate in Victoria Junior College, I found his recollections at the National Day Rally of growing up in the 1980s could just as well have been mine. Back then, we engaged with computers in labs in school or community centres. Making video calls on personal handheld devices was the stuff of science fiction.

Close to four decades on, most of us are now in our 50s, bearing the responsibilities of the sandwich generation, caring for our elderly parents as we prepare our children for an artificial intelligence-driven future with its contours yet unfolding.

Here, too, PM Wong acknowledged the very real anxieties of a changed world, citing the multifarious threats of geopolitical strife, economic uncertainty, climate change and technological disruption.

One challenge stands out. While we celebrate Singapore's successes on its 60th anniversary, there are clear trials ahead, especially when it comes to technology and, specifically, AI. This powerful technology, ripe with possibility yet replete with risks, is here to stay. Evolving our education system across every life stage is more vital than ever, to level everyone up and prevent the widening of divides.

IT STARTS IN PRE-SCHOOL Consider young families where pre-schoolers are growing up in environments where digital devices are scattered about the home. In research I conducted with Professor Jean Yeung Wei-Jun, who is now at A*Star, we found that young children from lower-income families are more likely to spend longer unsupervised time on these devices compared with those from higher-income families, and hence are at greater risk of excessive use and exposure to adverse content.