SUTD launches new office of AI and Digital Innovation to foster Design AI skills in students
It is the first institute of higher learning in Singapore to set up an OAIDI, as the world's first Design AI university.
The new office is a department dedicated to drive curriculum, innovation and talent development specifically through Design AI.
It will integrate Design AI principles across all educational levels as well, where every SUTD undergraduate will acquire foundational Design AI skills, while a new second major in Design and AI (DAI) will be offered to students who seek a deeper specialisation.
Additionally, the existing minor in DAI will offer students who wish to complement their primary fields of study some flexibility and degree of variation.
The OAIDI office will also coordinate university-wide efforts across the strategic priorities of talent development, research, innovation and enterprise, as well as ethical and responsible AI.
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This move builds on a series of steps taken by SUTD to transform the institution into a Design AI-focused powerhouse, as part of its growth strategy upon its pivot to AI in January this year.
Earlier in March 2024, the university had launched of SUTD Leap, a multi-year and multi-pronged growth strategy aimed to redesign higher education with a strong focus on design and AI.
Led by Associate Provost Professor Tony Quek, who is also head of the Information Systems Technology and Design Pillar, he will report to the Office of the Provost at SUTD on OAIDI's activities and developments.
Professor Quek said: 'At OAIDI, we want our students and researchers work alongside AI to solve real-world problems, and not simply look at cutting-edge research. We want our students, postgraduates, and professionals to be comfortable working with AI and thinking about how it can elevate ideas and solutions as part of the team.'
Professor Chee Yeow Meng, SUTD Provost and chief academic and innovation officer, said: 'The establishment of OAIDI is a significant step in our ongoing efforts to strengthen AI as a core part of what we do at SUTD.'
'It is about approaching the use AI in a way that treats it as a partner and not just a tool, and preparing our students for the AI world and equipping them with more than just basic ChatGPT skills,' he added.
SUTD's Design AI approach is embedded across the curriculum, unlike traditional AI programmes that confine it to a single discipline. Students in all its five programmes – from Architecture and Sustainable Design, Computer Science and Design, DAI, Engineering Systems and Design, and Engineering Product Development – will learn to use AI and gain hands-on experience through integrated coursework and team-based projects.
Other Singapore universities and education bodies in recent years have also been developing programmes and holistic spaces to further AI learning in to the city-state's educational landscape.
The National Institute of Education (NIE) on May 29 signed a three-year memorandum of understanding with Amazon Web Services to open a new Technology for Education Centre for applied innovation and research in education technology.
It will be housed in a new annex building in NIE's campus, and is scheduled open at around the same time as Nanyang Crescent MRT station, which will serve the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Smart Campus.
In February 2024, NTU had also announced that it will begin offering a new interdisciplinary degree programme in AI and ethics to train a cohort of graduates to plug manpower needs in the information digital technology industry.
Its curriculum is designed to equip students with essential mathematical and computational skills so that they can develop high-quality AI solutions, while exploring the ethical complexities of AI, including how it can perpetuate inequality, bias and misinformation.
The Bachelor of Science in AI and Society programme is a four-year course, and welcomed its first batch of 60 students in August 2024.
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Business Times
16 hours ago
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SUTD launches new office of AI and Digital Innovation to foster Design AI skills in students
[SINGAPORE] The Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) announced on Tuesday (Jul 1) that it has established a new Office of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation (OAIDI), to make artificial intelligence (AI) a core component of its undergraduate and postgraduate education, research and enterprise efforts. It is the first institute of higher learning in Singapore to set up an OAIDI, as the world's first Design AI university. The new office is a department dedicated to drive curriculum, innovation and talent development specifically through Design AI. It will integrate Design AI principles across all educational levels as well, where every SUTD undergraduate will acquire foundational Design AI skills, while a new second major in Design and AI (DAI) will be offered to students who seek a deeper specialisation. Additionally, the existing minor in DAI will offer students who wish to complement their primary fields of study some flexibility and degree of variation. The OAIDI office will also coordinate university-wide efforts across the strategic priorities of talent development, research, innovation and enterprise, as well as ethical and responsible AI. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am Asean Business Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies. Sign Up Sign Up This move builds on a series of steps taken by SUTD to transform the institution into a Design AI-focused powerhouse, as part of its growth strategy upon its pivot to AI in January this year. Earlier in March 2024, the university had launched of SUTD Leap, a multi-year and multi-pronged growth strategy aimed to redesign higher education with a strong focus on design and AI. Led by Associate Provost Professor Tony Quek, who is also head of the Information Systems Technology and Design Pillar, he will report to the Office of the Provost at SUTD on OAIDI's activities and developments. Professor Quek said: 'At OAIDI, we want our students and researchers work alongside AI to solve real-world problems, and not simply look at cutting-edge research. We want our students, postgraduates, and professionals to be comfortable working with AI and thinking about how it can elevate ideas and solutions as part of the team.' Professor Chee Yeow Meng, SUTD Provost and chief academic and innovation officer, said: 'The establishment of OAIDI is a significant step in our ongoing efforts to strengthen AI as a core part of what we do at SUTD.' 'It is about approaching the use AI in a way that treats it as a partner and not just a tool, and preparing our students for the AI world and equipping them with more than just basic ChatGPT skills,' he added. SUTD's Design AI approach is embedded across the curriculum, unlike traditional AI programmes that confine it to a single discipline. Students in all its five programmes – from Architecture and Sustainable Design, Computer Science and Design, DAI, Engineering Systems and Design, and Engineering Product Development – will learn to use AI and gain hands-on experience through integrated coursework and team-based projects. Other Singapore universities and education bodies in recent years have also been developing programmes and holistic spaces to further AI learning in to the city-state's educational landscape. The National Institute of Education (NIE) on May 29 signed a three-year memorandum of understanding with Amazon Web Services to open a new Technology for Education Centre for applied innovation and research in education technology. It will be housed in a new annex building in NIE's campus, and is scheduled open at around the same time as Nanyang Crescent MRT station, which will serve the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Smart Campus. In February 2024, NTU had also announced that it will begin offering a new interdisciplinary degree programme in AI and ethics to train a cohort of graduates to plug manpower needs in the information digital technology industry. Its curriculum is designed to equip students with essential mathematical and computational skills so that they can develop high-quality AI solutions, while exploring the ethical complexities of AI, including how it can perpetuate inequality, bias and misinformation. The Bachelor of Science in AI and Society programme is a four-year course, and welcomed its first batch of 60 students in August 2024.
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A switch would be an acknowledgment that Apple is struggling to compete in generative AI. PHOTO: AFP Los Angeles – Apple is considering using artificial intelligence (AI) technology from Anthropic PBC or OpenAI to power a new version of Siri, sidelining its own in-house models in a potentially blockbuster move aimed at turning around its flailing AI effort. The iPhone maker has talked with both companies about using their large language models for Siri, according to people familiar with the discussions. It has asked them to train versions of their models that could run on Apple's cloud infrastructure for testing, said the people. If Apple ultimately moves forward, it would represent a monumental reversal. The company currently powers most of its AI features with homegrown technology that it calls Apple Foundation Models and had been planning a new version of its voice assistant that runs on that technology for 2026. 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In the future, if its own technology improves, the executives believe Apple should have ownership of AI models given their increasing importance to how products operate. The company is working on a series of projects, including a tabletop robot and glasses that will make heavy use of AI. Apple has also recently considered acquiring Perplexity in order to help bolster its AI work, Bloomberg has reported. It also briefly held discussions with Thinking Machines Lab, the AI startup founded by former OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati. Souring morale Apple's models are developed by a roughly 100-person team run by Ruoming Pang, an Apple distinguished engineer who joined from Google in 2021 to lead this work. He reports to Daphne Luong, a senior director in charge of AI research. Luong is one of Giannandrea's top lieutenants, and the foundation models team is one of the few significant AI groups still reporting to Giannandrea. Even in that area, Federighi and Rockwell have taken a larger role. Regardless of the path it takes, the proposed shift has weighed on the team, which has some of the AI industry's most in-demand talent. Some members have signalled internally that they are unhappy that the company is considering technology from a third-party, creating the perception that they are to blame, at least partially, for the company's AI shortcomings. They have said that they could leave for multimillion-dollar packages being floated by Meta Platforms and OpenAI. Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, has been offering some engineers annual pay packages between US$10 million and US$40 million – or even more – to join its new Superintelligence Labs group, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. Apple is known, in many cases, to pay its AI engineers half–or even less–than what they can get on the open market. One of Apple's most senior large language model researchers, Tom Gunter, left last week. He had worked at Apple for about eight years, and some colleagues see him as difficult to replace given his unique skillset and the willingness of Apple's competitors to pay exponentially more for talent. Apple this month also nearly lost the team behind MLX, its key open-source system for developing machine learning models on the latest Apple chips. After the engineers threatened to leave, Apple made counteroffers to retain them, and they are staying for now. Anthropic and OpenAI discussions In its discussions with both Anthropic and OpenAI, the iPhone maker requested a custom version of Claude and ChatGPT that could run on Apple's Private Cloud Compute servers – infrastructure based on high-end Mac chips that the company currently uses to operate its more sophisticated in-house models. Apple believes that running the models on its own chips housed in Apple-controlled cloud servers, rather than relying on third-party infrastructure, will better safeguard user privacy. 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