Like many working parents in Singapore, Stomper Anthony Yeong<\/strong> knows the frustration of asking his children about their school day, only to receive the same brief replies.<\/p>\n \u201cHow was school? Fine. What did you learn today? Nothing,\u201d the 45-year-old father of three<\/a> told Stomp.<\/p>\n His children, who are in Primary 3, Primary 6 and Secondary 2, finish school at around 1.45pm, but Yeong only knocks off work after 6pm.<\/p>\n \u201cBy the time we sit down for dinner, I\u2019ve missed their whole afternoon, and all I get is \u2018Fine\u2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Hoping to help his children learn independently while keeping himself involved in their education, Yeong spent his nights building an artificial intelligence<\/a> (AI) tutor called myKx.<\/p>\n The prototype features a virtual study buddy named Kix, a cartoon star that guides children through lessons, offers hints and keeps parents updated on their progress.<\/p>\n Yeong joked that if such tools could ease the pressures of parenting, they might even help Singapore\u2019s birth rate.<\/p>\n \u201cHalf joking, but maybe this is why our birth rate is so low: no time, no money, no baby,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf myKx gives parents a bit of time and headspace back, maybe it\u2019ll even help the birth rate a little.\u201d<\/p>\n Yeong, who works in technology at a blockchain startup, has been teaching himself to code since he was about nine years old.<\/p>\n He is currently serving his notice period after resigning and plans to spend more time with his family during the coming holidays.<\/p>\n At home, Yeong is the family\u2019s unofficial tutor, helping his children with mathematics, science and English.<\/p>\n His wife keeps track of their homework, spelling tests and examinations, while he goes through their answers whenever he has time.<\/p>\n But despite his technical background, teaching his children has not always been easy.<\/p>\n Originally from Malaysia, Yeong, who is now a Singapore citizen, did not go through the local education system and often has to familiarise himself with the syllabus before explaining concepts to his children.<\/p>\n \u201cPSLE<\/a> was the toughest, with both of my older kids,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cGoing through past-year papers was torture, because getting the right answer isn\u2019t enough. You also have to show it the way the markers expect.<\/p>\n \u201cIf anyone wonders why our birth rate is so low, try relearning PSLE maths as a parent.\u201d<\/p>\n His daughter recently completed her PSLE, while his youngest son finished his Primary 3 examinations.<\/p>\n Yeong admitted that he sometimes struggled to adapt his teaching methods to his children\u2019s different learning styles.<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, my temper sometimes got the better of me, especially with my eldest during his PSLE two years ago,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew it was never their fault. They\u2019re curious kids by nature, and my way of teaching was just too dry. I still feel bad about it.\u201d<\/p>\n When he came across the Meta Global AI Developer Hackathon, Yeong decided to turn those frustrations into something useful.<\/p>\n \u201cThose past tortures and regrets are really what made me sign up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Yeong said it took about three nights to get the first version of myKx working.<\/p>\n During the day, he would ask his children for feedback on its design and features before using AI coding agents to help build them.<\/p>\n He has since spent about a week refining the lessons, games and safety features.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most challenging part? Staying awake at night,\u201d he joked.<\/p>\n More seriously, he said the challenge was creating something children would enjoy using without encouraging excessive screen time.<\/p>\n Unlike general-purpose AI chatbots, myKx is designed around the Singapore school syllabus and each child\u2019s learning progress.<\/p>\n Yeong said the tutor uses methods familiar to local students, including model drawing for mathematics and Claim, Evidence, Reasoning for science.<\/p>\n Instead of immediately providing answers, Kix offers hints and explains concepts conversationally.<\/p>\n The platform also incorporates games and activities tailored to each child\u2019s interests.<\/p>\n Anthony Yeong with his wife and three children during a family holiday in South Korea in 2025.<\/p>\n PHOTO COURTESY OF ANTHONY YEONG<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n For example, Yeong\u2019s youngest son can raise a virtual tadpole that develops as he learns about animal life cycles.<\/p>\n \u201cMy youngest got hooked on the Critter Lab,\u201d Yeong said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe kept wanting to touch them, so I made it such that you can tap the critter and its habitat, and they react.\u201d<\/p>\n His children have tried some questions and explored the main features, though they have not yet used the platform extensively.<\/p>\n Yeong said they have also been helping him think of ways to promote the project, as the hackathon includes a prize for the most viral entry.<\/p>\n \u201cMy kids have basically become my product team and my marketing team,\u201d he quipped.<\/p>\n One feature Yeong is particularly proud of allows children to flag mistakes made by Kix.<\/p>\n A separate AI system, called Kix Synapse, checks the reported error and tests proposed corrections.<\/p>\n Yeong said he deliberately planted a typo in a question to test the feature.<\/p>\n Under its default settings, corrections are made automatically only when the system meets its highest confidence threshold. Otherwise, they require his approval.<\/p>\n Changes affecting marks also undergo additional checks.<\/p>\n However, his children have yet to catch Kix making a mistake themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cPart of me can\u2019t wait for them to catch Kix out, though,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Besides helping children revise, myKx is designed to send parents daily summaries of what their children have learnt, where they struggled and how they might be feeling.<\/p>\n \u201cSo instead of \u2018How was school?\u2019, I can ask, \u2018Eh, I heard you finally got that bar model question?\u2019\u201d Yeong said.<\/p>\n The prototype also includes child-safety features.<\/p>\n According to Yeong, if a child enters a worrying message, Kix is designed to respond supportively, display information about helplines such as Tinkle Friend and SOS, and alert a parent.<\/p>\n Other proposed features include notifying parents when their children arrive home and identifying possible concerns through home cameras.<\/p>\n However, Yeong clarified that the mobile phone application and full home-camera integration have not yet been built.<\/p>\n For the hackathon, he uses simulated location information and AI-generated camera images to demonstrate how these features could work.<\/p>\n The system is still a prototype, and its safety features have not been independently verified by Stomp.<\/p>\n Yeong estimated that the AI component costs about 12 Singapore cents per child on a typical school day.<\/p>\n However, this does not include hosting, database expenses, his development time or additional home-safety features.<\/p>\n Yeong developed myKx independently for the Meta Global AI Developer Hackathon, which ends on Nov 4.<\/p>\n The project is open-source, and a free guest version is available for members of the public to try without signing up.<\/p>\n The demonstration uses a fictional family to protect the identities of Yeong\u2019s children.<\/p>\n While he hopes the platform could eventually help other Singaporean families, particularly those who struggle with tuition costs, he acknowledged that more work is needed before it could become a commercial product.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause it\u2019s for children, there\u2019s a lot more work to do on privacy, security and compliance first,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n For now, his priority is getting his own children to use it and improving the platform based on their feedback.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always a proud feeling to show what our little red dot can do on a global stage,\u201d Yeong said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd if myKx makes a few parents smile, that\u2019s already a win for me.\u201d<\/p>\n Members of the public can try the guest version here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Have something to say? 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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\u2018Try relearning PSLE maths as a parent\u2019<\/h2>\n
Built in three nights, with help from his \u2018product team\u2019<\/h2>\n
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Children can correct the AI tutor<\/h2>\n
Keeping parents in the loop<\/h2>\n
\u2018If myKx makes a few parents smile, that\u2019s already a win\u2019<\/h2>\n
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