ChatGPT has become the world’s fastest-growing technology, as the service has reached over 100 million users in 2 months. Whilst other countries such as France and Australia aim to restrict ChatGPT for educational use in their respective regions, the wealthy Asian city-state of Singapore has taken on a rather different approach. On February 12th, 2023, the Singaporean government expressed progressive plans to integrate ChatGPT use into the teaching and learning in the country’s schools and institutes of higher education.
According to a local newspaper The Strait Times, Singaporean Education Minister Chan Chun Sing told the country’s Parliament that there are also professional discussion groups among educators to explore the use of AI tools to enhance learning among students. The Singaporean Ministry of Education (MOE) is guiding teachers in classrooms on how to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT to enhance learning, given that these tools are likely to become pervasive over time.
The minister likens ChatGPT to a calculator for learning mathematics but said that ChatGPT can be a useful tool for learning only when students have mastered basic concepts and thinking skills. This is why the Singaporean MOE will also equip students with the skills to use AI tools responsibly, he added.
When asked what measures were put in place to prevent cheating using AI, the Education Minister said that the country’s institutes of higher learning have varied modes of assessment – such as examinations, presentations, and projects – which require analysis, field notes and observational details that cannot be generated easily by AI technology.
Mr Chan also added that there are skills such as self-directed and collaborative learning and inventive thinking that are not easily replaced by technological tools, but are acquired through leadership roles, interdisciplinary project work and experiential learning.
As of publishing, Singapore is currently the first country globally to express its policymaking vocally in favour of implementing AI tools such as ChatGPT into its education system. Since 2015, the country is ranked academically first place in both Maths and Science subjects in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study(TIMSS), administered by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, a non-profit research cooperative based in Amsterdam. The National University of Singapore is also the highest-ranked university in Asia, ranking 11th globally, according to QS World University Rankings 2023.
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