That's how I'm feeling right now. Rejection sucks, it unleashes a giant cloud of “what went wrong?”, “I thought it was good”, “What did I miss?”, “Am I really that bad?”, “Was I too full of myself?” thoughts that impairs visions on day 1, but it eventually subsides as a the days go by.

It's been three days since I got rejected from AI Singapore for their Apprenticeship Programme. When I attended the briefing about two months back it felt like something achievable – they were looking to build AI talent in Singapore and you didn't need to be of computer science background nor of any particular age to get selected. I really thought that it was a way for me to build my portfolio and credibility in this competitive sector, and have always had a dream of helping Singapore build her AI competency in a global landscape. I was suddenly brought back to my twenties, when after graduating NUS with a degree in Real Estate, I dreamt about helping shape Singapore's urban landscape by joining the URA. I was rejected then.

Although life presented me with many nice surprises and opportunities after, now 20 plus years later, that “dream unfulfilled” still resides in the back of my mind. I thought that now this time I could try again, this time with AI instead of Real Estate. But maybe life keeps pointing me somewhere better.

Today is Wednesday, April 15, 2026, 11:35am. I'll just grieve over my self-doubt for a few more minutes, then start thinking about different options. I'm deathly focused on committing the next chapter of my life to figuring AI (machine learning, large language models) out, because I believe this is truly the next wave in tech, just like how the age of Internet and digital marketing transformed businesses in the 2000s.

My purpose is not to be housed in a datacentre (like I envisioned), but to get out there to help businesses understand this new transformation. This will be my new focus.

Let's continue building.

#Rejection #Apprenticeship #AISingapore #AIAP #CareerPivot

As I'm going through the free Stanford Online course CME295, I thought about Natural Language Processing (NLP) and how we currently tokenize English text to feed into LLMs. If we transform words into numbers, how do we add in culture nuances, slangs, etc that are unique to a country so that we can create a sort of naturalized citizen? What is Singapore currently doing?

So I asked Gemini for some thoughts: so if I am a citizen of a country who wants to help build a realistic LLM for my country where we have 4 languages and we want to not only create a balanced LLM, but also to incorporate our country's culture and slangs into it so that the LLM performs like a "fellow citizen" and knows all our nuances and history. How should I start?

Gemini's answer: “This is a noble and technically fascinating mission. Building a “Sovereign LLM” is the move from a model that knows about your country to a model that is of your country.

Be careful with “Data Poisoning.” If you only scrape one political side or one ethnic group's slang, your “Fellow Citizen” AI might end up being biased or exclusionary. Balance is your hardest job.”

It then went on to suggest some open-source models to start with and actionable next steps.

[NOTE] I'm using this blog article to document the start of my journey. It will be a multi-year quest of mine. I know Singapore is already embarking on building her own LLM or LLMs, but wouldn't it be great if I can create my very own Singaporean friend, a super knowledgeable, kind and caring one at that.

Cool idea?

#ai #LLM #NLP #SovereignAI #Singapore #Singlish #AISingapore #CME295 #LearningInPublic

I recently had a realization while watching Dispatches from Elsewhere: staying quiet is a form of selfishness. In the show, Fredwynn tells Peter that by not sharing his perspective, he’s withholding something valuable from the group. That hit home. For too long, I’ve been a quiet solo-builder, but as I pursue an apprenticeship with AI Singapore (AISG), I’ve realized that my mission, and the knowledge I gain, belongs to the community.

Singapore has no natural resources; we only have our people. I believe AI is our unique opportunity to transcend our physical limits and export local talent to the world. To get there, I’m attacking this from three angles: building real-world solutions, earning technical certifications, and finally, refusing to be 'selfish' by sharing every step of this journey in public.

• First I will just solo-build, or team-build (I don't have many friends to start with actually), help my friends solve their issues, learning and building at the same time.
• Secondly, I will build my credibility by getting certifications, skills and knowledge
• And third, I will resolve to share more about my journey, because I recently realized that if I don't share, I'm being selfish with my knowledge. So ... I will share more, here on my blog, and also look out for upcoming videos on YouTube.

If I don't get the apprenticeship I will still keep building.

Thanks for reading.

#reflection #ai #apprenticeship #AISingapore #AISG #SingaporeTech #SoloBuilder #AIGovernance #SmartNation #CareerPivot #LearningInPublic