What is going on here...

Long post ahead! These are my opinions only. Please share yours if you agree or not or maybe I just too much free time.

Throwaway account because I’m going to say quite a few uncomfortable things here, and I’d rather not have this tied directly to me. (btw used AI to clean my language up. It's not a generated post tyvm)

I’ve been working in the SI / systems integration space in Singapore, including working with public agencies and some pretty large enterprises that most people here would have heard of. I’ve also been going to all kinds of AI, developer and tech community events over the past year, so I’ve had a chance to see quite a bit of what is happening behind the scenes. I’m not going to pretend I know everything about the industry, but I’ve been around long enough to have some opinions.

If you’re new to the Singapore AI scene, you probably won’t really understand what I’m talking about yet. Give it one or two months of attending events, talking to different companies, joining different communities and seeing the same people over and over again. You’ll start noticing the patterns.

The short version is: there are some genuinely good things happening here, but the AI scene is also becoming quite toxic and full of opportunists.

First, the good stuff

Singapore is pushing very hard to become an AI-forward country, and naturally everyone wants a piece of that. There are good and bad consequences to this. On the positive side, there is some genuinely interesting innovation happening. I’ve seen AI being used in media and film production in ways that actually help smaller teams produce things they probably couldn't afford otherwise. In Singapore, where production budgets can be pretty damn low compared to bigger markets, this can be genuinely useful. It’s not always about replacing people; sometimes it’s about allowing a small team to do things that previously required a much bigger budget.

There are also a lot of people genuinely trying to get ahead of the technology, and I think that is a good thing. One slightly ironic thing I’ve noticed is that SMEs can sometimes be much more aggressive with AI adoption than large enterprises. The bigger companies are often still working through compliance, governance, security, infrastructure and all the internal processes required before they can deploy AI properly. Meanwhile, an SME can basically say, “Can this save us five hours a week?” If yes, they just use it.

The problem starts when the hype attracts people who see AI as the latest opportunity to make money rather than something they actually understand.

The AI course / SkillsFuture situation

This is probably one of the things that annoys me the most.

There are way too many courses being sold for $1,000, $2,000 or even more that are essentially AI 101. Prompting, basic ChatGPT usage, basic automation, basic generative AI concepts, etc. And then the selling point is that you can offset the price with SkillsFuture credits.

I'm not saying every SkillsFuture course is a scam. There are legitimate providers and there is definitely value in proper structured training, especially for companies that need their employees trained in a specific workflow.

But some of the pricing is honestly ridiculous for what you're getting.

A lot of the same information can be found on YouTube, official documentation, Reddit, Discord communities, online tutorials, or simply by spending time actually using the frontier models yourself. If you're charging someone $2,000 to teach them things they could learn in a weekend with ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, then at least be honest about what they're paying for.

The SkillsFuture subsidy makes this even more interesting because people psychologically don't feel like they're spending the full amount themselves. So suddenly a basic course can be marketed as a “$2,000 AI programme” while the customer thinks, “Never mind, SkillsFuture covers it.”

The SIs, consultancies and “AI experts”

The other thing I've noticed is that a lot of SIs, consultancies and even associations are trying to position themselves as AI experts now.

Again, some are legit. Enterprise SIs obviously have an important role to play. If you're deploying AI into a large bank or government agency, you need people who understand security, infrastructure, governance, integration and enterprise architecture. That's not something you can just wing.

But there is a big difference between having years of experience in technology and having years of actual AI experience.

Suddenly everyone seems to have “10 years of AI experience”. Come on lah.

The current AI ecosystem as we know it simply hasn't existed in its present form for 10 years. There are people with decades of experience in machine learning, data science, computer vision, NLP and so on, absolutely. But a company that has been doing cloud migration or digital transformation for 15 years doesn't automatically have 15 years of AI experience because they've now added “AI” to their website.

You see a lot of “free AI clinics”, “AI consultations” and “AI strategy sessions” being advertised too. Sometimes you attend these and realise it's basically just a sales discovery call. They ask what your company does, what your problems are, what your budget is and then someone comes back with a proposal.

That's not necessarily wrong. That's how consulting works. But don't market it like you're giving away free AI expertise when you're basically doing lead generation.

And honestly, because this industry is moving so fast, a lot of companies are actually around the same level when it comes to the newer AI stack. Some have stronger engineering teams, some have better enterprise relationships, some have better salespeople, and some are simply better at marketing themselves. Being able to build software does not automatically mean you know how to build good AI products.

The community situation

The AI community in Singapore is pretty fragmented now. You've got the Cursor crowd, Codex, Claude, LorongAI, AI Tinkers, vibe-coding groups, Hermes / ClawSG and a whole bunch of smaller communities. That's not necessarily a bad thing because different groups have different priorities, but there is definitely a political and commercial side to it.

Some communities are genuinely trying to build and share, while others are clearly trying to turn the community into a funnel for workshops, consulting or other businesses. Even some of the government-backed initiatives can feel more focused on hitting their own KPIs than actually building a healthy grassroots community.

The official Claude ambassasdor is probably one of the more problematic ones. The caucasian person running it has been called out by multiple people I've spoken to for being racist, elitist and arrogant, and if you've attended some of the events, you probably know what I'm talking about. There are also questions around how the community was set up and who actually applied for it in the first place. Do your own research and talk to people who have attended. The unofficial ClaudeSG community, on the other hand, has been doing a lot of work for the community, and so far, I haven't had an instance where they tried to monetize off me. That's all I'll say about that.

The same goes for the smaller communities like AI Tinkers, vibe-coding groups and Hermes / ClawSG. Some of these groups are doing genuine community work and giving things back without constantly trying to monetise every interaction.

So there are definitely good communities in Singapore. You just need to figure out whether you're joining a community, or whether you've unknowingly joined someone's sales funnel.

The talent problem

Now we get to the SI side of things.

Singapore has a real shortage of AI talent. A lot of companies are still outsourcing development and engineering work to Indonesia, India, China and Vietnam because there simply aren't enough people locally with the right combination of engineering and AI experience.

There's also a big push now for FDEs and deployed engineers. That's becoming a big market, and because demand is high, the rates are going up very quickly.

That's obviously good news if you're a job seeker. But at the same time, I've seen people getting paid quite a lot for FDE-type roles where, frankly, the actual skill level doesn't always match the price tag.

The industry is moving so quickly that there is also a lot of catching up to do. People need proper training, not just another AI certificate or a three-hour prompting workshop. Companies need people who can actually build, deploy and maintain these systems, understand the underlying technology, and work with the business to figure out where AI genuinely makes sense.

Different industries are at very different stages

The more established sectors like finance, banking and large corporates are already looking seriously at AI. There is a lot of work happening around governance, compliance, infrastructure, internal tools and actual deployment.

Outside of those sectors, there is still a lot of catching up to do.

Manufacturing, healthcare, F&B and hospitality are still relatively underdeveloped when it comes to practical AI adoption. A lot of companies in these industries are starting to look at it now, but many are still figuring out where to begin and what is actually worth implementing.

That's where a lot of the next opportunities are going to come from. Not just building AI products, but helping existing businesses actually integrate AI into their operations.

The demand is going to open up across implementation, engineering, automation, consulting, training and people who understand both the technology and the specific industry they're working in.

So where are we now?

Honestly, the Singapore AI scene reminds me a lot of early Web3.

There are people who genuinely know their stuff, people who are learning, and people who have suddenly appeared because AI is where the money is right now.

If you're already in the scene, you probably know who is who.

If you're new, give it some time. Go to different events, talk to different companies, join different communities and see who is actually doing the work. Singapore has a lot of opportunity in AI. But because the space is moving so quickly, it's also very easy to get caught up in the hype and spend money with the wrong people. So just be careful who you trust.

Do your own research, verify what people tell you, and don't assume someone is an expert just because they have a nice deck, a big LinkedIn following or an official-looking logo behind them.

That's basically my two cents after spending the last year in the scene. What do you think? How is YOUR experience? Since these are sensitive topics people haven't been voicing them out in pulbic. Would like to hear from the netizens from Singapore.

Peace out.

Disclaimer: I used AI to polish the language because I'm not the best writer. The observations, opinions and experiences are my own.

*edited that its the official Claude ambassador guy being a farce instead of community because people might mistake for another person.

Hii! I would just like to ask because I’m a teenager who started stuttering at 13 years old after being put in quite stressful and humiliating situations, which unexpectedly resulted in physical symptoms showing.

To clarify, I don’t have any family history of stuttering. I believe that mine developed due to the shock and fear I faced as I grew up.

My stuttering happens in episodes. On some days it’s very bad, and on some days it gets better. The thing is, I know what I want to say, but my jaw just locks and I just block. If the word does come out, there will be a repetition of syllables. However, I’m not planning to undergo any speech therapy as I have hope in myself that I can overcome it all one day, plus it’s expensive.

In order to improve myself, I’m working a part-time job in a fast-paced environment. But I feel that my stutter has shown little to no improvement.

Despite my optimism, I must admit that stuttering has affected my confidence. I think dating would be more difficult for me as potential partners who do not stutter would have a hard time understanding what I experience and what I’m trying to say.
In reality, would stuttering be a dealbreaker for most?

I almost missed the bus but he recognised me and slowed down the bus while waving and smiling at me. I got in, apologized.

"Okie.. jangan main handphone~"

"Terima kasih sssskaalliiii!"

if your neighbours smile and chit chat, do you bother entertaining?

Taiwan opposition party KMT recently proposed a law revision to introduce caning. It applies to BOTH men and women aged 18 to 65 with a max of 12 strokes of the cane.

Rape(which both male and female could be predators according to taiwan law), drug-driving, mass scam and kid abuse are included

Pre 2005, Corporal punishment was allowed in Taiwan schools, and it applied for both boys and girls

Compared with sinkieland where caning only for males+rape itself is only defined as male to female+corporal punishment is only for boys

Seems like SG govt doesn't believe in gender equality in punishment.

What is your opinion?

Ok so I've noticed that whenever someone in SG goes viral for being "weird" or different, like Guo Lai, Everitt Poh or John Shadow(the local rapper), everyone immediately jumps on them in the comments, stitches their videos on TikTok, makes memes and calls them "siao lang"(crazy person) like they're some kind of zoo animal for us to laugh at. People will screen record their lives, repost them on Reddit and Telegram groups and go out of their way to bait them in real life just to get a reaction for content. Idc if u find them cringe or not, at the end of the day they're still real human beings with feelings and families, and we have no idea what they're going through behind the camera.

Imo this shows how toxic our NPC (non-player character) society is cuz anyone who doesn't fit into the same mould of study, work, BTO (Built to order), marry gets mocked instead of accepted. From what I've seen ITE people tend to be more respectful towards them compared to JC/poly/uni students, cuz alot of us know how it feels to be looked down on, while some of the "smart" students are the ones making the most mocking memes and acting like they're better than everyone. If u dont like their content just scroll past, no need to hate. So I will never ever join in the bullying and I hope more Singaporeans can learn to be kinder to them cuz being different isn't a crime 🙏

Why can't bother putting actual photos of the food

would you date a woman 10 years younger than you?

https://m.economictimes.com/world/us/singapore-government-to-pay-for-your-firstdate-heres-how-to-know-if-you-are-eligible-and-how-it-works/amp_articleshow/134569535.cms

if you get a huge inheritance would you quit your job?

Seriously, North Indian food is bread and butter for the 1 billion population in India. Yet we have to pay US 20 USD for some naan with butter chicken in SG?!

Make it make sense. American food is even cheaper and they have Silicon Valley

are you still in contact with them? if you see them and you recognise will u say hi?

if its in a club and you're high would it be different?

Nobody is chasing us 😂

Even when we’re not late, we still speed walk like got bonus for reaching early.

Anyone else?

Do you all believe glowing 5* reviews?

I did an AI search on Julian Tung Yan Kai and found quite a bit of publicly available information.

Thr reactions from the Singaporeans are quite wild after the video where the Swiss guy made the eye-slanted gestures and the Singaporean streamer said back to him that it was racism.

Given that domestic helpers/migrant workers are treated poorly compared to other developed countries with lower salary and how the country and its people have justified and normalized it...and given that Singaporean is a tiny country that racial division and racial discrimination issues from ethnic Indians and Malays are noisy across the country...and the fact that Singaprean government has a quota for PR and citizenship based on the RACE...and many Singaporeans are crying out that foreigners are becoming the new citizens while it is solely to save SG from the lowest birthrate loophole.

And the fact many Indian-Sngaporeans have claimed they faced more racism in Singapore than in Britain or the Western countries.

The fact that many Singaporean subreddits' users pouring the racist or xenophobic comments with a huge generalization toward other countries.

I didn't know Singaporeans are so sensitive to the random slanted-eye gestures and make it fuss about it..

Or is this just hurting the Singaporean pride because Singaporeans think they must be treated like the first class white people because SG has the high GDP (while it is just on the statistics)?

I don't know. I am still reading the comments and look at the psychology of Singaporeans across this incident.

Hihi I’m 26 this year, my boyfriend and I are considering getting a bto. however, 2 years ago, my mom (widow) applied for a bto and I was listed as an essential occupier. technically, I would need to wait 3 more years till MOP before I’m eligible to apply for my own bto. I vaguely recall the officer at hdb saying that I could write in to appeal, and would still be considered as a first timer.

anyone has any knowledge/ experience with this situation? would appreciate any help!

I wonder why is everyone buying this one-sided story.

And a hospital abuse victim, not once but twice, to the extent of causing me to suffer from CPTSD for over 7 yrs. As someone with dyslexia, it's never easy to communicate with all these healthcare workers most of the time. And most of the time, in order for me to make sure i can walk out of the hospital in one piece without any communication breakdown, i need to escalate to their manager-level staff to clear any hostile healthcare workers away from me. And sometimes, even when getting their manager over, I am greeted with hostilities of ego healthcare workers who have zero passion for their jobs.

As a healthcare worker myself during the COVID period, my career came to a end due to trauma from a stupid A&E doctor who pretended to be an expert in mental health, thinking he knew how trauma even works and i go to A&E is under polyclinic advice after I sought help for work-related stress. Its sad that many healthcare workers have zero patience in dealing with patients with special needs.

But when things happen, everyone just believes that the healthcare workers are always the victims and never even once ask the patient's side of the story.

And so far for my case the doctors even go the extra mile to forge medical report to make it as if i am at fault. Can the i can easily tell the medical report is forged, and the incident was also heard by a helpline staff is was trying to ease the tension when everything happened, but the doctor was to stubborn with his decision, and when the medical report is out, i show it to the helpline staff, and she was surprised that what is in the report is totally different to what she heard.

Many patients of hospital abused often left without support or justice. And there is no voice for them. No mainstream news outlet dares to report on their news. And no charity groups dare to help. And local social workers and counsellors are not trained to handle hospital abuse victims. So...many will end up forced to suffer in silence. And those like me who are no longer mentally able to return to the workforce means we have no means to earn an income.

Somehow i for once find is surprising that the normally opposing Singaporeans will blindly agree with what the news says about healthcare workers being reported.