Not slow, just don’t stand still: Prof Anthony Tung on mastering AI with purpose
Channel 8's current affairs programme, Hello Singapore, featured Professor Anthony Tung from the Department of Computer Science in a panel discussion on how Singapore can hold its ground in the age of AI – alongside Minister of State for Digital Development and Information (MDDI) and Education, Jasmin Lau, and a media professional.
On the most essential AI skill, Prof Tung kept it simple: Learn to ask better questions. Where most of us are trained to find answers, he argued that the real shift is learning to prompt, to engage AI in a genuine dialogue.
"You can ask AI to introduce 10 useful prompts for your personal use. AI can then customise a learning plan for you – learn to have a dialogue with it, as if it were a real teacher."
Asked which AI initiative Singaporeans should pay closest attention to, Prof Tung pointed to Singapore's AI Mission. His reasoning was that progress with AI is not about speed, but about direction.
"Learning or using AI isn't about being slow – it's about not standing still. Set a goal, and keep moving forward."
On raising kids in the era of AI, Prof Tung drew on classical Chinese philosophy to make his point. He invoked the Zhuangzi principle of 物物而不物于物 – that one should master things, not be mastered by them. In his view, the humanities are not a retreat from technology; they are its counterweight. "AI is a tool. We set goals, let it work for us, and don't let it replace us." That is why, he added, he places emphasis on culture, philosophy, and human thinking in his daughter's upbringing – qualities that remain stubbornly beyond what any algorithm can replicate.
For students anxious about graduating into an AI-transformed job market, his counsel was steadying: cultivate curiosity, not anxiety.
"You set a goal, enjoy the process, and have an experience of self-driven growth. When a new challenge comes, it's a chance to learn something new."