Singapore sees surge in ChatGPT use: IN-cube survey


Written By:

Professor Edson C. Tandoc Jr
Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
Nanyang Technological University (NTU)

The number of Singapore residents using generative AI chatbot ChatGPT has increased in the last few months, a survey by IN-cube found.

In a webinar on Sept 29, IN-cube Director and WKWSCI Prof Edson Tandoc Jr. reported that the number of survey participants who said they have never used ChatGPT decreased from 58.3% in February to only 33.4% in June.

IN-cube conducts regular online surveys in Singapore to track and understand internet use.

The June survey, which involved about 1,000 adults, showed that 9.1% of the participants said they use ChatGPT very often while 16.5% said they use it often.

WKWSCI Assoc Prof Nuri Kim said this increase may be explained by word-of-mouth, as early adopters may have shared about their experience with the chatbot to their peers, who decided to try the technology as well.

Those who use ChatGPT have positive atittudes toward it, with 62.4% agreeing that ChatGPT is helpful and 63.9% agreeing that it helps to save time.

In contrast, only 28% agreed that using ChatGPT is “dishonest” and 38.2% agreed that ChatGPT is “dangerous.”

Assoc Prof Kim, who leads the Communication and Democracy (CODE) Lab at IN-cube, said this may be explained by how users have been discovering the different practical uses of generative AI while still being unclear on the risks it poses.

Some 150 students from WKWSCI attended the webinar and raised questions on ChatGPT’s implications for universities.

Assoc Prof Kim and Prof Tandoc also underscored the risk of widening digital inequalities, where users who have the training or expertise to use the technology responsibly may benefit from it, while those who may be misusing it may be doing so at the expense of their personal development.

To watch the webinar and learn more about the survey findings, please visit the IN-cube website:Webinars | Centre for Information Integrity and the Internet (IN-cube) | NTU Singapore