RTBS Youth Debates

Title: Read to Be Sure Youth Debates: Broadening Students’ Knowledge

     When it comes to issues relevant to the teens of today, there is no shortage of talking points. Some examples include the necessity of higher education, sustainability, and the different perspectives of caregiving. With so many points of contention on various topics, it begs the question of when these discussions should take place. The Read to be SURE Youth Debates (RTBS Youth Debates) organised by the National Library Board and Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC) provides students with the opportunity to deepen their knowledge on various topics of interest. Furthermore, the debates are open to the public, allowing the students’ peers and members of the public to attend. With debaters fighting for their respective sides, this platform provides the public with the space to gain insights into different perspectives on trending topics.

     2024 saw three debates take place. The first was focused on the progress of COP28 while the second tackled the issue of abolishing the retirement age. The last debate was held recently on 13 July 2024 and was centred around the motion: This House believes that deepfake technology will revolutionise the entertainment industry for the better. The debate saw three ACJC students (all members of the debate club) go up against three representatives of the Ministry of Education Debate Training Programme.

     In this article, we talk to four students who participated in the RTBS Youth Debates series to learn more about their experience. Huo Xi Cheng and Zhang Xiao Yu, part of the Ministry of Education Debate Training Programme, are both from Hwa Chong Institution. They took on the role of the opposition during the debate. On the other hand, Pat Pitsinee Narunatavanich and Verity Yee are ACJC students, with Pat arguing as the proposition for the motion on deepfakes and Verity having participated in a previous debate on abolishing the retirement age in Singapore.

You both took part in the latest debate. Did you have an understanding of deepfakes and generative A.I. before this?

Xi Cheng: (cont.) I also initially thought that deepfakes were just used for niche meme videos, but it turns out that there is actually the ability to deepfake extras into movies. Knowing this made me realise the tangible effect of how deepfakes affect our lives.

Pat: The exposure was there, and I knew that it was becoming more prevalent in our society. As a student, it is relevant in such a way where even when you’re not trying to actively search for information about it, you will be fed the information. But because of this debate, I was able to gain a deeper understanding of what deepfake really is and what distinguishes it from CGI.

How have the debates helped you to understand more about the topics?

Pat: (cont.) We also had to think about potential impacts from different perspectives be it societal, as a student, or as an individual.

Verity: Oftentimes, the topics that we see in debates are things we see in society or things that we see while scrolling through social media. Or they come up in conversations we have with our friends. Whether we take the steps to go and conduct our own research is a different thing. So, I think these debates really provide us that avenue to research, have proper conversations and really hear about the different perspectives people have on these topics.

Xiao Yu: For us, at the start, our knowledge of generative A.I was very cursory. We thought of it as —oh, this is a new thing that exists and there’s a trend of companies investing in it and trying to develop it. For this debate, though, we really went deep into the mechanism of how deepfakes work and how it impacts different stakeholders. We looked at whether the government is effective in regulating generative A.I., and who the stakeholders are in the industry.

Compared to normal debates, how do the RTBS Youth Debates differ?

Pat: My personal thoughts on this programme is that it is not just about us debaters. The debates really boil down these topics into digestible bite sizes.

Xi Cheng: It’s always a privilege to speak in front of a large audience to feed off their energy. We are also not just debating in a vacuum. With this being open to the public, members of the public can pick up points from either side as well while watching the debate.

     If you would like to stay up-to-date with trending topics, RTBS has other avenues to explore, including curated RTBS volumes that tackle selected topics with every release. For those who want to learn how to navigate the digital landscape safely and effectively, you can watch this handy video to find out how you can use the S.U.R.E. steps. If you are interested in more debates, why not check out our mainstage debates where experts weigh in their thoughts?

Written by Terri Kue

Terri Kue is a university student who was an intern with the National Library Board’s S.U.R.E. team in 2024. Her interests involve travelling, cooking, and adding books to her TBR list (note: not to be confused with actually reading them).