Sponsoring students at AIE became a test of Singapore's AI ambition

The story could have been small. A sponsor pulled out shortly before AI Engineer Singapore. The organisers did not cancel the student-ticket initiative. Builders stepped in, and 20 students entered the room.

But read the students' reflections, and it becomes harder to dismiss as a feel-good gesture. AI has lowered the cost of building. It has not automatically lowered the cost of trying.

The bet was on who gets to enter the room#

The students had front-row seats, introductions to speakers and time with builders at booths. As Shreyansh Agarwal observed, they were close enough to ask questions.

That is different from inspiration. It gives students enough proximity to form judgment.

Several left thinking about the work around the model: evaluations, sandboxes, security and accountability. Zeyu Yao, a Grade 12 student, wrote about the higher standard for thinking that follows when building becomes easier. Jesmine Goh made the case for showing up before the frontier moves on.

AI has lowered the cost of building. Singapore still has to lower the cost of trying#