How video games are shaping a generation of boys, for better and worse

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Qn: 'Video games are a threat to society and should be banned.' Do you agree? (NYJC MYE 2025)

S’pore-developed app helps deaf people take and make calls using speech-to-text technology

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For issues on how sci and tech has improved the lives of people....

Goodbye to 8,000 employees – IBM replaced them with artificial intelligence and ended up hiring the same number again

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Despite the initial cuts, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna had to admit that the total number of employees within the company actually increased in net growth. The fact is that AI did not eliminate jobs, but rather transformed them.

the positions that were rehired were not the same as those that had been eliminated. Instead, they hired in areas of creativity, human interaction, and strategic problem-solving. The new batch of IBM employees were mostly software engineers (to build AI), sales and marketing people to interact with customers, and critical thinking roles.

The point is not to worry about artificial intelligence, but rather to maintain the right skills that make us attractive to companies. The future of work seems to be a collaboration with machines, where our empathy, judgment, and creativity remain our most valuable assets.

Qn: To what extent is artificial intelligence replacing the role of humans? (Cam. 2019)

Turning rubbish into electricity: Indonesia to build huge incinerators to shrink landfill needs

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In some way, you can burn the problem. But the key is to burn it in the right way. The smart way

The WTE (waste-to-energy) facility is said to be able to transfer the heat from the garbage-burning to boil water and turn it into steam in special pipes to spin a turbine to generate electricity.

However, concerns remain about potential health risks from emissions despite modern incinerator technology. Thus, incinerators might not be welcomed by all, though the modern ones have devices to convert pollutant gases into less harmful ones in closed systems with air controls. In many countries, communities near incinerators often worry about respiratory diseases and cancer risks as emissions from these plants cannot be 100 per cent contained.

Toxic and acidic liquid could form when rainwater passes through waste and seeps into soil and groundwater, a particularly dangerous issue as most Indonesians still rely on pumped-up groundwater for their supply of clean water, including for drinking

Decomposing waste also releases methane and hydrogen sulphide, causing foul smells and sometimes respiratory irritation. Methane is highly flammable and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, worsening climate change.

Qn: To what extent are science and technology able to solve the problem of waste disposal? (Cam. 2024)

Please keep religion out of partisan politics

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Qn: How far should religion influence political decisions? (Cam. 2009)

Pentagon’s Pete Hegseth declares war on US media, but new rules could backfire

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And history offers a cautionary lesson. The 2025 Pentagon rules almost immediately draw parallels with the 1971 Pentagon Papers controversy, when the Nixon administration tried to prevent newspapers from publishing classified documents that showed the government had misled the public about the Vietnam War. 

Mr Hegseth is claiming that all journalism that is not authorised by the Pentagon poses a threat. He is relying on the premise that investigative journalism itself is a threat to national security

There is a long history of officials in the United States claiming that they seek to protect national security, when in reality, they seek to protect their own reputations and to protect against their incompetence and misconduct being exposed

the public loses access to information it has a right to know, along with the right to ask questions of those entrusted with spending nearly US$1 trillion (S$1.3 trillion) from taxes and managing three million employees.”

Qn: Is regulation of the press desirable? (Cam. 2017)

AI-fasting – Just what the doctor ordered

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This challenges the belief that while AI tools erode the abilities of novices, they do not affect those already skilled.

How many of us can still find our way without relying on the Global Positioning System (GPS)? How often do we rely on predictive text or writing tools instead of shaping our own sentences and ideas?

Over time, such habits can also chip away at deeper skills like writing and critical thinking, as we grow accustomed to bite-size information and automated assistance.

Commercial planes can technically fly themselves from take-off to landing, yet pilots still train rigorously and are required to fly parts of the journey manually – because in an emergency, only a skilled human can take control with confidence.

If we outsource too much, we risk losing not just practical skills (“knowing how”) but also deeper abilities like critical thinking, judgment and even moral reasoning.

ChatGPT users have diminished brain engagement and activity, with potential impact on cognitive development, critical thinking and intellectual independence. This suggests that “AI-fasting” may be necessary to prevent cognitive deskilling – especially among students, where overuse could stunt intellectual growth.

The same goes for moral decision-making. We can use tools to nudge us towards safer or more efficient behaviour, but genuine ethical choices often require weighing values, emotions and consequences. Over time, if we let machines decide for us, we risk losing our moral compass....Simple nudges, like speed cameras or energy-saving devices, may help with routine choices, but true ethical dilemmas demand reasoning that no algorithm can replace.

Qn: To what extent has technology had a negative impact on the skill levels of people? (Cam. 2010)

Parents, don’t let the manosphere raise your child

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