People’s Association to launch bite-sized AI courses for seniors and homemakers unfamiliar with tech

People’s Association to launch bite-sized AI courses for seniors and homemakers unfamiliar with tech SINGAPORE: Residents unfamiliar with artificial intelligence (AI) can learn how to use it in their everyday lives through bite-sized, beginner-friendly and affordable courses at community clubs from November. Unlike most AI courses commercially available today, which are designed for working professionals, the courses will cater to residents unfamiliar with AI, including seniors and homemakers, the People's Association (PA) said in a press release on Saturday (Oct 10). Named AI @ Your Neighbourhood, the courses aim to help residents understand AI, build confidence in using AI tools for everyday life, and use it safely and responsibly. PA has curated 25 courses to date with PA training providers, with more courses to be progressively introduced to keep pace with developments in AI and residents’ evolving needs and interests. The courses will cover topics including everyday digital life skills, photography and photo enhancement, and how to use AI to make travel easier. They will be rolled out progressively across PA’s community clubs islandwide from November 2026. From November, the courses will be offered at community clubs at S$10 (US$7.80) per course. PA will offer a 30 per cent discount from November 2026 to October 2027, bringing the fee to S$7 per session. “Through the programme, PA aims to reach 10,000 residents and make AI learning more accessible to the community,” it said. PA is also collaborating with partners including AI Singapore, Micron Technology and NTUC LearningHub to bring AI workshops to residents. Speaking at PA’s annual Community Seminar at Our Tampines Hub on Saturday, PA Deputy Chairman Edwin Tong said AI is already changing how residents receive information, discover opportunities and connect with one another. Mr Tong, who is also Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs, encouraged grassroots leaders, community volunteers and partners to harness AI to stay close to residents, understand their needs better and deepen the human connections at the heart of their work. “Our aim is to use AI to take away manual and administrative work, to allow our staff and volunteers to focus on what really matters – nurturing the human connection, empathy and care for our resident,” he said. USING AI TO STREAMLINE ADMIN PA has also been using technology and AI to streamline administrative processes, such as its vendor selection, grassroots procurement and payment systems. “For instance, volunteers can describe what they need for a community event and the tool would recommend options to them. “Invoices can be automatically read by payment systems and the necessary fields populated,” PA said. This allows grassroots leaders, volunteers and staff to spend more of their time engaging residents, it added. MAKING SERVICES EASIER TO ACCESS Other initiatives announced at the Community Seminar included an AI Voice Assistant on onePA, which will let residents tell onePA what they are looking for in their own words. OnePA is an online portal where residents can discover, register and pay for programmes. Expected to be launched by early 2027, the AI Voice Assistant will recommend suitable programmes and facilities based on their interests and live availability, before guiding them from discovery to booking and payment. The assistant will support English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. PA will also pilot the PA Community Robot, which will allow residents to discover suitable programmes, navigate the CC and connect with CC staff through voice or touchscreen when further assistance is needed. It is expected to be piloted in the first quarter of 2027. Ms Peggy Ong, an 82-year-old retiree who attended a travel course under the AI @ Your Neighbourhood initiative, said: When I heard about this course, I decided to go for it since it was quite short and very convenient for me” “The trainer explained AI in a simple way which made it easy to understand, and I and my friend who attended it with me found it quite useful,” she said. [Image text:] A Dyour neighbourhood Bite-sized courses for ol