The National University of Singapore (NUS) unveiled AI Sense Maker (ASM), becoming the first university in Southeast Asia to use conversational AI in research and academics, developed jointly by NUS Libraries and NUS Information Technology (NUS IT).
Associate Professor Natalie Pang, university librarian at the National University of Singapore, said, “Researchers today are not short of information; they are short of time and clarity. AI Sense Maker is designed to help people make sense of information, not simply find it. By connecting ideas across trusted sources, it gives students and researchers a more intuitive starting point for deeper inquiry. Rather than replacing critical thinking, it helps people ask better questions, discover new connections and generate fresh insights.”
AI Sense Maker
ASM is a web-based platform powered by OpenAI’s Large Language Model (LLM) that claims to transform traditional search strategies.
It uses semantic search to understand meaning, intent, and context instead of literal keyword matches. It can surface relevant sources that may use different terminology, while also identifying related concepts.
ASM offers features like topic summaries, related concepts, curated references, and interactive knowledge graphs. These tools are designed to support faster, more efficient research, without having to depend heavily on exact keywords.
The platform will officially launch on 20 August 2026 with an initial foundation of 150,000 digitised materials. These materials will be sourced from ScholarBank, the repository of research papers at NUS, as well as from Digital Gems, which is NUS Libraries’ ongoing initiative to digitise its Special Collections of rare materials and primary sources. This collection will emphasise Southeast Asia, including books that date back to the 17th century.
