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SingaporeGeneral Paper

Science, Technology and Society

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

Is artificial intelligence and automation a threat to human work and agency, or a tool that extends them?

Evaluate the benefits and risks of artificial intelligence and automation for work, society and human agency, with balanced arguments and examples
A focused answer to the General Paper theme of AI and automation. Balanced arguments on jobs, productivity, bias, and human agency, plus Singapore examples, so you can argue any side of a question on technology and work.
10 min answer →

When does the collection and use of personal data serve society, and when does it threaten freedom?

Evaluate the tension between data collection, privacy and surveillance, weighing security, convenience and commercial value against individual freedom
A focused answer to the General Paper theme of data, privacy and surveillance. Balanced arguments on security, convenience and commercial data against privacy and freedom, with Singapore and global examples for any related question.
10 min answer →

How far should we go in using genetic engineering and biotechnology to alter living things, including ourselves?

Evaluate the promise and the ethical limits of genetic engineering and biotechnology in medicine, food and human enhancement
A focused answer to the General Paper theme of genetic engineering. Balanced arguments on gene editing, GM food and human enhancement, the ethical limits and the playing-God objection, with examples for any related question.
10 min answer →

How should societies decide what science and research to fund, and who should set those priorities?

Evaluate how scientific research should be funded and prioritised, weighing curiosity-driven against applied research and public against private control
A focused answer to the General Paper theme of science funding. Balanced arguments on basic versus applied research, public versus private funding, and how priorities are set, with Singapore and global examples for any related question.
10 min answer →

Does technology narrow inequality by spreading opportunity, or widen it by rewarding those who already have access?

Evaluate how unequal access to technology shapes opportunity and inequality, and what closing the digital divide requires
A focused answer to the General Paper theme of the digital divide. Balanced arguments on whether technology equalises or entrenches inequality, the dimensions of access, and what bridging the gap requires, with examples.
9 min answer →