Sebastian Mueller

It was an honour to share about the biggest shift in human history: AI at SMU School of Computing and Information Systems Industry Day. At Google, we've viewed AI since 2018 as not just a technological advancement; it's a profound enabler that can help us tackle humanity’s most significant challenges. I shared how AI is already making a tangible difference across three critical areas: 🩺 Healthcare: From empowering doctors to detect diseases earlier to accelerating drug discovery with tools like AlphaFold, AI is shifting us from treatment to prevention and saving lives. 🌀 Climate Change: AI gives us the most precious resource in a crisis—time. Our AI-powered tools provide earlier, more accurate forecasts for floods and hurricanes, helping communities prepare and respond more effectively. 🎓Education: We’re making education more personal and accessible. AI helps students get one-on-one help and empowers teachers to create personalised learning plans, freeing them to focus on mentoring and inspiring. This vision can only be realised through a shared commitment to building robust infrastructure, investing in human capital through skilling programs, and shaping forward-thinking policies. The real value for all of us is this: AI isn't just about building new products. It’s also about empowering people to solve our greatest challenges and level the playing field for many of us. The potential is immense, and it’s a future that we can all build together. Glad to also catch up with Sun Sun Lim, Adeline Tung, Xinxing Xu and Feida Zhu.

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How AI-powered service robots will replace frontline workers? Professor Jochen Wirtz is Vice Dean of MBA Programmes and Professor of Marketing at NUS Business School and visited Asia School of Business to speak about “GenAI Meets Service Robots: The Promise of LLMs, LBMs & Agentic AI in the Service Sector.” I’m sharing my notes, as unfortunately it was a very exclusive event and a few people could attend. Professor Wirtz’s research focuses on service robots enhanced by generative AI, large language models, large behavioural models, and agentic AI. These multipurpose robots can learn, adapt, and personalize interactions, for example, tailoring food to Professor Michael Frese's culinary preferences, improving interactions in hospitals, solving customers problems, or opening more sections of ASB parking when capacity is reached without requiring human authorization. Their versatility will also serve the "long tail" of unique human needs that cannot be met by human workers in an industrialized world. Training these service robots will not require technical expertise, anyone can do it. Trainers will eventually be replaced by their trainees, and the robots themselves will also help train humans. The impact on societies will be significant: by 2030, there may be one robot for every eleven humans. Many service jobs will be replaced, labor shortages in some sectors (such as IT) will be eased, while unemployment in others will increase. Robots with perfect memory and access to vast knowledge create new risks and responsibilities that must be addressed: ethics, fairness, privacy, health, and safety. Professor Wirtz’s webpage and research will be listed in the first comment.

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Malaysia’s innovation engine is running and Budget 2026 just stepped on the accelerator 🏎️💨 MRANTI recently concluded our I-Nation Global Summit 2025, following #MOSTI’s National Innovation and Commercialisation Expo (#NICE2025) — two milestones uniting innovators, corporates, policymakers & changemakers around one shared goal: to make Malaysia a technology leader, not just a user. The recently announced Budget 2026 gives that vision real muscle - RM1.5 billion for high-value industries, AI, semiconductors, and innovation ecosystems. The signal is clear: Malaysia is moving from aspiration to execution. 🔍 Key Learnings from I-Nation 2025: 1️⃣ Four Pillars, One Vision – AI, HealthTech, AgriTech & Food Security, and Going Global form the backbone of MRANTI’s innovation priorities. 2️⃣ Health as the “First Mile” – Prevention > cure. Community-driven digital health solutions are reshaping care delivery. 3️⃣ AgriTech Must Evolve – Smart water systems, climate-resilient crops, precision tools — these are no longer optional. 4️⃣ Global Mindset Starts Local – From Switzerland, Sweden to Singapore, we learnt that scaling requires early exposure, structured support and a global mindset. 5️⃣ Collaboration as Currency – MRANTI’s curated business matching created 117 meetings between startups, corporates and investors — proof that partnerships, not subsidies, drive growth. 🎯 Actionable Takeaways: 1️⃣ Government / Agencies: Accelerate programme delivery - budgets mean little without execution. 2️⃣ Corporates / GLCs: Adopt open innovation models - partner startups with validated innovation solutions to future-proof your business. 3️⃣ Startups / TechSMEs: Think global from Day One - export readiness is your survival skill. 4️⃣ Researchers / Innovators: Translate science into business - bridge lab to market and match your passion with market needs. 5️⃣ Investors / Funders: Back deep-tech in AI, Health & Agri - Budget 2026 prioritises these verticals. 🧭 Budget 2026 - A Strategic Accelerator: 💰RM1.5 billion for high-value sectors 💰RM550 million via Khazanah & KWAP for semiconductors 💰RM53 million digital accelerator grants for AI, blockchain & quantum 💰RM180 million to boost innovation and sustainability industries But even the best blueprint is just ink on paper without delivery. Bold budgets need bolder execution!!! No agency or nation can do this alone. Innovation is a relay of trust, ideas and courage so let’s run together - bust the silo’s, break the barriers, transcend the borders, and let’s build a future that is sustainable, inclusive and globally competitive 💪🏼 Rofina Yasmin Othman PhD, FASc, ICDM, RTTP Khalid Yashaiya ADIT R. Sara Hamlin Andreas Hinz Patrick Lim Ahmed Serag, PhD Alexandra Bush RTTP Irene Dal Poz Sarena Che Omar Mohd Nor Azman Hassan Dali Abdul Latiff Aw #INation2025 #Innovation #Commercialisation #Budget2026 #AI #HealthTech #AgriTech #Ecosystem #GlobalScaling #Malaysia #ideastoimpact #technologycommercialisation

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Just wrapped up two weeks exploring some of China's major cities 🇨🇳 - here are my key observations on their technology landscape from a consumer perspective: 📱 Mobile-first everything: WeChat dominates with thousands of mini-apps covering virtually every daily need. Combined with Alipay, Didi, Amap, Taobao, and Douyin, you rarely need to leave these ecosystems. Mobile payments are seamless and universal. 🚦 IoT integration: Small example that impressed me - WeChat Navigation shows real-time traffic light countdowns. This level of urban data integration is remarkable. ⚡ Electric transformation: Every scooter in major cities runs electric - millions of them with zero combustion engines visible. Dozens of Chinese EV brands are proliferating, some quite sophisticated (check the Xiaomi SU7 Max I spotted). 🤖 AI-powered efficiency: Image processing and scanning infrastructure is everywhere. Passport scans, QR payments, and biometric processing happen instantly with zero wait times - though this creates comprehensive location tracking, and it is pretty clear where everybody is... The technological progress over the past five years is genuinely impressive. 🚀 If you've visited China recently, I'd be curious to hear your observations on how the tech landscape has evolved. #China #Technology #AI #ElectricVehicles #MobilePayments #WeChat #Innovation #DigitalTransformation #IoT #TechTrends #ConsumerTech

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Singapore has been busy. Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Alibaba, BHP, Accenture, PwC, and Prudential have all opened AI labs, research centres, and innovation hubs here in the last 12 months alone. The two main goals of nearly all of them are developing talent and resolving actual business issues. That’s not a coincidence. Singapore is turning into an interesting place to look at if you're considering the intersection of AI, capability-building, and real-world implementation. #AI #Singapore #DigitalInnovation #TalentDevelopment #AIEcosystem #TechLeadership

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