Filtered by: Department of Computer Science
On Good Tech (Money FM Afternoon Show), Associate Professor Suranga Nanayakkara, Co-founder of AiSee from the Department of Information Systems & Analytics at NUS Computing, shared how AiSee—an AI-powered wearable described as a “visual companion”—is transforming accessibility for people with visual impairments.
Even simple tasks like picking the right carton of milk at the supermarket can pose significant challenges, but AiSee helps users better connect with the world around them. Innovations like AiSee not only enhance daily life for people with visual impairments, but could also pave the way for more inclusive innovation in Singapore and beyond.
On Channel 8’s Frontline, Prof Anthony Tung, AI Lead for Urban Sustainability at the NUS AI Institute in Singapore, highlighted that while AI can be a powerful tool, it inevitably comes with a margin of error and requires verification. For instance, although many believe AI can be relied on for coding and programming, mistakes often occur. Over-reliance on AI without proper oversight could disrupt company operations, which is why organisations still need professionals to review outputs and ensure programmes function correctly. Otherwise, such errors could result in wasted time and resources.
Assoc Prof Terence Sim from NUS’s School of Computing highlights the challenges posed by AI-generated voice fraud. He notes that the Singaporean accent can be harder to clone, as most AI models are trained on American or British accents. While skills such as spotting hissing, mismatched background sounds, or abrupt transitions in speech can help detect deepfake voices, he cautions that these methods are not foolproof as voice cloning technology continues to advance.
Singapore’s government is helping businesses harness AI to boost efficiency and competitiveness. Prof Anthony Tung, AI Lead for Urban Sustainability at the NUS AI Institute in Singapore, highlighted that this support is especially crucial for small and medium-sized enterprises, which face challenges such as high AI talent costs, data acquisition for model training, and energy consumption.
He expressed optimism about AI’s potential, noting that while people currently use AI to solve existing problems, future students equipped with AI tools could tackle challenges never imagined before. Prof Tung also emphasised that alongside technical skills, nurturing human qualities—imagination, creativity, values, and purpose—is essential, as these remain irreplaceable by machines.