Rainbow seen above Singapore's skyline before NDP 2025
Photo: CNA/Raydza Rahman
A rainbow stretching across Marina Bay.
Photo: CNA/Jeremy Long
A rainbow at the tip of Marina Bay Sands.
Photo: CNA/Raydza Rahman
A rainbow was spotted at the ArtScience Museum.
Photo: CNA/Jeremy Long
Next Story
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
13 hours ago
- CNA
NEL disruption: No train services at 11 stations due to power fault; Sengkang-Punggol LRT also down
live Singapore Train services have been disrupted between the North East Line's Farrer Park and Punggol Coast MRT stations. 12 Aug 2025 12:31PM (Updated: 12 Aug 2025 12:40PM) SINGAPORE: Train services have been disrupted on the North East Line between Farrer Park and Punggol Coast MRT stations due to a power fault, according to transport operator SBS Transit. Sengkang-Punggol LRT services have also been disrupted. Follow live as we bring you updates from the ground: MRT
Business Times
15 hours ago
- Business Times
Temasek Trust's investment vehicle leads US$11.6 million Series A funding for carbon removal startup
[SINGAPORE] A catalytic capital vehicle by Temasek Trust – the philanthropic arm of Singapore investment company Temasek – is leading a US$11.6 million Series A fundraising for Equatic, a carbon removal and green hydrogen climate-tech startup. Besides Catalytic Capital for Climate and Health (C3H), Kibo Invest – which is a Singapore-based private investment office with a focus on climate technology – is another co-lead in this fundraising round. Equatic uses seawater electrolysis to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in the ocean, while simultaneously producing carbon-negative hydrogen. The Series A financing will support the ongoing engineering of Equatic's first 100 kilotonne carbon dioxide removal commercial facility, alongside further commercialisation, manufacturing and technological development, indicated a media release from C3H on Tuesday (Aug 12). The technology has been validated through pilots in Los Angeles and Singapore, with strong offtake interest. Equatic has also adopted an international standard for monitoring, reporting and verifying the amount of carbon dioxide removed. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 12.30 pm ESG Insights An exclusive weekly report on the latest environmental, social and governance issues. Sign Up Sign Up This has been validated by two carbon removal registries – Isometric and – allowing Equatic the ability to generate carbon dioxide removal credits under both registries. Gaurav Sant, founder and chief technology officer of Equatic, said this financing will catalyse its mission to deliver cost-effective and durable carbon removal at scale. 'The Temasek Trust ecosystem has been a foundational partner to Equatic, from early-stage philanthropic backing from Temasek Foundation to catalytic investment through C3H. We are excited to accelerate our journey with partners who share our thesis that technology translation and innovation is fundamental to mitigate worsening climate change, quickly and at scale,' he added. Ryan Tan, head of C3H, said that Equatic's technology and approach exemplify the type of bold and scalable innovation that aligns with C3H's mandate. 'We are delighted to support Equatic's goal in advancing promising climate mitigation solutions that offer permanent, durable carbon removal with green hydrogen production for scalable, tangible impact and commercial benefit,' he added. The company was awarded S$1 million in catalytic funding in 2021, when it won The Liveability Challenge, a global crowdsourcing platform for sustainability solutions presented by Temasek Foundation. It then piloted its carbon removal technology in Singapore in collaboration with national water agency PUB. Equatic was named a finalist in September last year for The Earthshot Prize, a global challenge that spotlights and supports innovative solutions to repair the planet. Temasek Trust is a founding partner of the programme.
CNA
20 hours ago
- CNA
Commentary: AI can write the pitch, but only humans can read the room
SINGAPORE: Last month, artificial intelligence (AI) chalked up yet another win as an advanced version of Google's Gemini AI model correctly solved five out of six questions in the International Mathematics Olympiad - a gold medal result in the world's premier mathematics contest for pre-university students. This was an improvement over its silver medal showing in 2024, underscoring just how quickly AI is improving. Humankind was nonetheless offered a rare reprieve in the contest between man and machine as Polish programmer Przemyslaw 'Psycho' Debiak beat an OpenAI model in a 10-hour marathon coding contest in Tokyo. Even so, it is only a matter of time before such contests swing in AI's favour, as technology advances relentlessly. This poses the question: Are there any domains where human beings will always have an enduring advantage over AI, and where human relevance is beyond doubt? Related to this issue is how schools and tertiary institutions ought to prepare the next generation for the age of AI. WINNING FRIENDS AND INFLUENCING PEOPLE As the debate over the impact of generative AI on jobs rages on, certain things have become clear. Large-scale job loss is unlikely, but the nature of work could change significantly. Skills like graphic design, professional writing or coding that were once relatively scarce may become less so as AI equips laypersons with the tools to become effective designers, writers or 'vibe' coders. At the same time, new jobs will be created, just as the industrial age, the computer era and the advent of the internet introduced entire new classes of jobs that did not previously exist. The question is whether there will be more good jobs or grunt jobs for human beings – whether AI will take over the choicest tasks, or whether it will free people from drudgery and empower them to pursue work with greater meaning. One reason to be hopeful is the inherent advantage human beings have in understanding and influencing decision makers. It is unlikely that consumers and business owners will ever fully devolve to AI decisions on purchases, investments and hiring. This is because such decisions are deeply personal, reflecting individual preferences, comfort levels and trust. As long as there is a need to convince decision makers of a course of action, human beings have a unique advantage. They are able to read a person's tone and body language, to judge his or her mood, and bring to bear knowledge of the person's preferences and proclivities in a way a machine cannot. Generative AI excels in text and logic as it is trained on vast amounts of recorded material. But much information about a person isn't codified, even if he or she is a prominent figure. This means that someone who actually knows the decision maker, or who has at least interacted with the person before, will be at a considerable advantage over AI in knowing how to make an effective presentation or sales pitch. The adage 'Whom you know is more important than what you know' still holds true in the age of AI. Networking and trust-building are uniquely human endeavours. AI can help draft a speech or spruce up a presentation, but the human insight into others remains critical. Leadership, too, is an inherently human exercise. Human leaders will still be relied on to organise people and lead teams, as success hinges on communication and trust, negotiation and compromise, beyond mere algorithms. THE HUMAN FACTOR IN STORIES AND SPORTS Another innate human advantage is the power of connection through storytelling. Human communicators will always have an edge over AI in being able to tell authentic stories from personal experience. This is evident in books and movies. Fiction draws readers because it recreates human drama in imagined settings, but there is a unique place for the memoir, or narratives based on actual people and events. Consider The Salt Path, a 2018 bestselling memoir recently turned into a movie. It recounts the story of the author and her husband, who set out on a long walk after losing their home and learning that one of them had a terminal illness. Their journey inspired readers with its story of human triumph over despair. A subsequent report by The Observer newspaper disputed key events underpinning this narrative. Regardless of the merit of these claims, the doubt cast on what is billed as a true story has had significant repercussions for the book's marketability. The world of sports provides another illustration. Much of the allure of sports lies in human drama – in human rivalry, the rise and fall of stars, in battling against the odds, and in the split-second decisions that alter the course of a match. Even in chess, where computer engines have long surpassed the best human players, livestreamed blitz and rapid tournaments are gaining online viewership, with human fallibility itself part of the draw. Just as handcrafted products command a premium in the era of mass production, human involvement in content creation – whether in books, film or sport – will be highly valued in the age of AI. SKILLS AND CONTENT MASTERY WILL REMAIN CRITICAL Much of the conversation on generative AI and education is about whether it is still worthwhile to learn skills and content where AI can clearly outperform human beings. The answer has to be a yes, because that is the only way human beings can understand, interpret and use AI output effectively. In the extreme, someone without basic literacy would have no way of making sense of a large language model's (LLM) output; a primary schooler's understanding of a topic such as magnetism would be very different from a physics graduate's understanding, even if both were to interrogate the same LLM. In the same way, those with a deep appreciation of writing and style can use AI-generated text more effectively than someone who does not grasp the rudiments of composition. The same applies to other creative domains such as art, design and music. Experts will still be needed to validate and where necessary, adjust AI-generated output to achieve desired outcomes. AI can do much of the heavy lifting in software programming, but when something goes wrong with the code, a software engineer's deep knowledge may be required for troubleshooting. At the cutting edge of research in any field, it will be subject matter experts leveraging AI who have the best chance of pushing out the frontiers of knowledge, certainly when compared with non-experts with access to the same AI tools. This is why some worry that if AI takes over entry-level jobs, many young professionals will never acquire the experience and expertise necessary to add value to AI. It therefore behoves employers to give opportunities to young workers, and for workforce entrants to leverage AI and human skills to contribute to their organisations from the get-go. Recognising the unique ability of human beings should be an encouragement to individuals and employers to continue investing in human skills and competencies, as well as subject matter expertise, so that AI will augment rather than undermine human capability.
