Reflecting on Tech Summit@SST Lab School 2026: A Celebration of Collaboration and Innovation
On 5 June 2026, Prof. Ben Leong, Director of AICET, was invited to share his insights on a panel at Tech Summit@SST Lab School 2026, organised by the School of Science and Technology, Singapore (SST). Held over 1.5 days — a half-day of pre-conference workshops followed by a full-day main summit — this year’s edition was themed “Towards a Human-Centred Approach in the Age of AI.”
The summit brought together a strong line-up from across the education and technology ecosystem. Guest-of-Honour Mr Koo Sengmeng from AI Singapore opened proceedings, alongside Mr Felix Goh from Google Singapore, who served as both keynote speaker and panellist. Prof. Ben Leong shared the panel with Mr Jason See from MOE’s Digital and Data Transformation Division (DXD), while Spotlight speakers Jiawen, Hatsumi, and Paul Hamilton delivered presentations that added further depth to the day’s conversations.
On the panel, Prof. Ben Leong drew on AICET’s “pedagogy first” philosophy, reiterating that innovation in education is not fundamentally a technology problem, but a pedagogy problem. He shared his view that AI tools are most powerful when they are built to amplify good teaching and learning, rather than to replace the judgement of a skilled teacher or the effort of an engaged learner.
A central thread of the discussion was the risk of over-reliance on AI, particularly among students still building foundational knowledge. Echoing themes AICET has raised in other engagements, Prof. Ben Leong cautioned that outsourcing thinking to AI too early can erode the “error detectors” that come from deep domain expertise, leaving learners more vulnerable to hallucinations and misinformation rather than better equipped to navigate them. He emphasised that producing a polished output with the help of AI is not the same as genuine learning, and that critical thinking, discernment, and the ability to ask good questions will only grow more valuable as AI becomes more capable.
Bringing the conversation back to the summit’s human-centred theme, Prof. Ben Leong argued that designing AI responsibly means keeping people — their growth, their agency, and their values — at the centre of every decision, rather than treating technology adoption as an end in itself. This aligns closely with AICET’s own approach: every tool the Centre builds starts from a real classroom problem, is developed to strengthen the instructor’s role, and is validated with real users before it is scaled.
The summit came to a fitting close with a keynote from Dr. Ng Pak Tee on human-centric teaching in the age of AI — a reminder that while AI will continue to reshape education, it is ultimately humanity that defines meaningful teaching and learning.
AICET was glad to be part of this year’s Tech Summit@SST Lab School, and looks forward to continuing the conversations and connections forged there as the community works together to shape the future of education.