Speak to fictional characters, create your own classics at NLB’s new generative AI installations
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SINGAPORE – In the basement of United Square mall in Novena, the fictional character Sun Wukong from the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey To The West was asked what his nicknames were.
He immediately chimed back, listing several nicknames, including Great Sage Equal To Heaven and Handsome Monkey King.
This was not from a scene of the popular Chinese classic but part of a generative artificial intelligence-powered service called ChatBook. Generative AI refers to software or technology tools used to create content like text, images and videos based on prompts from a user.
This is the first time the National Library Board (NLB) is rolling out ChatBook in Chinese and for fictional content, to spark interest among the younger generation in Chinese literature and language.
ChatBook: Journey To The West can be found at Basement 1 of United Square till April 27 and Level 2 of Changi Airport Terminal 3 till March 30. The public can converse with main characters from Journey To The West in English or Mandarin by speaking into a microphone or typing on the keyboard at stations at NLB’s pop-up installations, called nodes.
The characters, which are modelled on their book descriptions, will then appear on a screen and respond in Mandarin with English and Chinese subtitles.
The responses are generated based on the novel by novelist and poet Wu Cheng’en. As the book is no longer bound by copyright, ChatBook can draw on the rich narrative of this work, which has also been adapted into television programmes, movies and video games.
NLB chose to focus on the classic Journey To The West story due to the universal themes in the book, such as friendship, adventure, loyalty and perseverance, which it hopes patrons can learn about upon interacting with the characters.
The Journey To The West e-book is also available for borrowing at the nodes, along with other Chinese classic e-books available in both English and Chinese.
Another interactive service at the nodes is StoryGen, where users can select from three Chinese classics and six familiar childhood stories, including Little Red Riding Hood, Sang Nila Utama and Filial Daughter – Hua Mulan.
Users can play a part in reimagining these stories as they get to choose the type of characters and locations where these stories take place, and the generative AI will create a unique story based on these prompts.
NLB senior manager for planning and development Wendy Koh said: “United Square has a lot of education centres, so children can come and interact with the ChatBook while waiting for their lessons.”
She added that the node in Changi Airport caters more to other Singaporeans and foreigners who may be interested in these stories.
Alongside these interactive elements are NLB’s Read to be S.U.R.E. (Source, Understand, Research, Evaluate) resources, which educate patrons on the benefits and challenges of generative AI.
The node in Changi Airport caters more to other Singaporeans and foreigners.
PHOTO: NATIONAL LIBRARY BOARD
The node at United Square also features a Kahoot! game, where participants can quiz themselves on their ability to distinguish AI-generated pictures from real ones.
Mother of two Kelly Chua, who was at the United Square node on Jan 24, told The Straits Times that her three-year-old daughter, Elliette Huang, liked StoryGen.
“She gets to choose the different characters and the themes, and the story gets fleshed out on the screen along with her own name. I think she likes seeing her own name on the screen,” said the 40-year-old bank executive.
NLB’s first ChatBook prototype to be made publicly available was launched in 2024. It enabled users to interact with Ms Irene Ng’s biography of one of Singapore’s founding fathers, Mr S. Rajaratnam, to learn more about his contributions to the nation.
Earlier in January, members of Singapore’s literary community called on NLB to exercise greater prudence in adopting generative AI
A collective statement signed by 68 writers released on Jan 7 questioned the NLB’s “uncritical endorsement” of the technology.
An NLB spokesman said in response that the library values the trust of the literary community and that its AI prototypes are meant to complement, not replace, authors’ efforts.
