Shiraga on Education, AI, and the Evolution of Streaming

Shiraga observes a growing impatience among Mahjong opponents who react to delayed turns with visible frustration. She draws a comparison to driving behavior in Singapore, where she notes that drivers are quick to honk if someone hesitates to accelerate, reflecting a similar observation of societal impatience.

Teachers are currently balancing heavy administrative paperwork alongside the pressure of preparing students for major exams held this Thursday.

She has been actively assisting students with their major exams, which are scheduled for Thursday, including some who have already taken their end-of-year papers.

The streamer expresses frustration with the extensive administrative paperwork inherent in the teaching profession, which she identifies as a significant challenge.

She recalls requesting a director to separate two disruptive students into different classes due to their constant distractions, highlighting the challenges of maintaining focus in the classroom.

The streamer notes that students frequently 'zone out' in the middle of instructions, suggesting a widespread difficulty in retaining their attention.

Shiraga maintains a strict 'no AI' rule in her class, mandating a full rewrite for any essay found to be generated by artificial intelligence.

She recounts an incident from late 2024 where a student's father questioned the policy, asking, "Isn't everyone using AI?"

The streamer notes that some parents, referencing social media platforms like Xiaongshu, believe their children's academic performance improves through the use of AI.

She also observes that some parents, rather than the children, are the source of these views on AI usage in assignments.

The speaker identifies their generation as the last to experience a childhood largely characterized by 'touch grass' activities, a stark contrast to today's screen-dominated upbringing. They reference the late Steve Jobs, who restricted his own children's access to iPads, as an indicator of the impact of these devices. The speaker notes that contemporary children are exposed to screens from a very early age, often seen with tablets even while in strollers.

Shiraga observes that many students now lack fundamental keyboarding skills because their initial exposure to technology is primarily through tablets.

She expresses skepticism about the effectiveness of school-provided typing classes to adequately bridge this skill gap among students.

Shiraga explains that Singaporean schools primarily teach simplified Chinese characters, while Taiwan utilizes traditional Chinese text.

She notes that the phonetic systems also differ, with Singapore typically using Pinyin and Taiwan employing Bopomofo.

The streamer describes the challenges she faced in reading signs during her travels, attributing it to these distinct regional variations in language education.

Seeking pathways into the local system, mainland Chinese families are increasingly utilizing the AEIS test, a trend that accounts for heightened competition in Singaporean schools.

She explains that many of these families are specifically sending their children to Singapore to enroll in the local school system, often by passing the Admissions Exercise for International Students (AEIS) test.

Upper elementary students often struggle to maintain proper sentence structure and vocabulary, as evidenced by a recent instance where a student remained silent when prompted to describe a picture.

She recounts an instance where a student struggled to answer a basic question about a picture, resulting in a prolonged silence, and later revealed that their last oral practice was during the previous year's exam period.

The streamer highlights that there is a systemic issue where everyone focuses on reading and writing, while she remains unsure of what the schools are doing.

A student's essay, submitted in February, was not returned until late July or early August, indicating significant administrative delays.

The streamer notes that school examinations are typically marked and returned within three weeks, while this essay took five months, which she describes as madness. Additionally, reports indicate that students often experience multiple teacher changes within a single school year, and frequent 'free periods' occur when teachers are absent without proper coverage.

Despite claims from the Ministry of Education that there are sufficient teachers, the streamer suggests that schools are understaffed. The declining birth rates have led to the closure of schools in certain areas, yet existing classes often accommodate over 40 students.

The host expressed skepticism regarding the government's official stance on staffing and their pilot program for smaller classes, noting that many have been calling for smaller class sizes for a long time.

Shiraga drew parallels between Pinduoduo's business model and the expansion strategies previously observed with companies like Uber, Grab, and Netflix. This approach involves selling products below their actual cost to rapidly acquire market share and eliminate competition.

Once competitors are driven out of the market, these platforms typically begin to increase their prices year-on-year. The discussion extended to labor concerns, with mention of Shein's concentrated production efforts in a city colloquially known as 'Shein City'.

The host linked growing wealth inequality to a potential decline in consumerism and production efficiency in the future.

Shiraga questioned how half the world was convinced to outsource their thinking processes to artificial intelligence within a few short years. She noted observing individuals who enthusiastically embrace AI, viewing it as a means to offload their cognitive efforts.

The host expressed that she finds this trend disturbing, contrasting it with the value of personal cognitive engagement. She also sarcastically mentioned the idea of needing to 'outsource her thinking' as well, acknowledging the overwhelming complexity of the current environment.

At the close of 2024, Shiraga made a resolution to cease posting complaints about her previous employment on Instagram.

She implemented a policy, effective from January 1, 2025, to discontinue any posts related to her old workplace. This decision was noted shortly after she encountered a former colleague who also mentioned quitting her position.

She initially considered starting earlier but postponed it due to work commitments for about six months before finally committing in 2020.

Reflecting on this, she noted that nearly six years have passed since she embarked on her journey as a content creator. This period has seen her witness the evolution of the streaming landscape and the experiences of various content creators.

The streamer acknowledged the prevalence of drama within the VTuber community but stated that she generally does not follow it directly.

Shiraga recounted a near-accident during a road trip in Australia where two kangaroos appeared in front of their car while traveling at approximately 100 km/h. Her friend slammed on the brakes, causing both occupants to lurch forward.

She emphasized that their seat belts were crucial in preventing severe facial injuries, noting her nose would have been smashed in otherwise. This incident profoundly impacted her personal safety habits.

As a result, Shiraga stated that she now consistently fastens her seat belt, even when occupying the rear seat of a vehicle, a habit she previously sometimes neglected.

Educators remain skeptical about the reliability of emerging AI tools that transcribe and grade student oral exams. This system transcribes spoken answers and feeds the text into a system to generate an assessment.

Shiraga expressed significant doubt regarding the accuracy of AI-generated grading. When asked by a student if the tool is accurate, she stated she could not make any promises regarding its accuracy.

While some aspects of assessment are moving towards automation, traditional school examinations, particularly for essays, still rely on handwritten submissions. Shiraga questioned how AI could read handwriting at this stage of development.

She also noted that P4 students are reportedly being introduced to AI courses, suggesting an integration of artificial intelligence into the curriculum.

Shiraga revealed that her recent schedule, including traveling to three or four different locations in a single weekend, has been extremely tiring.

To mitigate this fatigue, she plans to consolidate her schedule and transition towards offering more group classes after her current batch of P4 students completes their graduation.

She admitted that one-on-one sessions can be extremely tiring.

Modern Mahjong software now includes a 'play assessor' feature, utilizing data from other players to assist in decision-making.

This tool provides a weighted score for discards, indicating which moves are statistically more common in specific game situations, helping players to optimize their strategy.

Shiraga mentioned that this feature has been available for at least a year, although the exact timeline of its implementation remains uncertain.

Shiraga recounted a friend's experience using deadlifts in the gym as a solution for his back issues, noting his back is better now because of the increased support.

The host emphasized the importance of avoiding extended periods of sitting, noting that even bodyweight exercises are better than nothing.

Shiraga enforces a policy of not texting after midnight. She explicitly stated that she reserves the right not to answer any texts, especially past midnight, to maintain boundaries.

Shiraga noted that her work technically runs from 3 p.m. to late night, making it necessary to set boundaries for student communication.

Shiraga plans to host a 'car stream' next week, marking the first time in approximately three to four months.

This opportunity arose after a tutoring session for next week was canceled.

The streamer noted that aligning schedules is often a challenge.

Shiraga pointed out that the subtitles currently displayed on the stream are AI-powered.

The streamer suggested that AI technology is causing various frustrations, noting it is affecting their streams as well as other personal matters.

Shiraga indicated that the AI used for the stream is causing issues with the display functionality.

Beginning tomorrow, new regulations in Singapore may impose fines on individuals playing loud music on public buses.

The new policy also addresses passengers who improperly use bus seats, such as propping their feet up.

Shiraga expressed doubts about how authorities will enforce these new regulations.

To compensate for recent growth plateaus and irregular scheduling, Shiraga confirmed a 'Koki' stream for next Monday, marking her sixth anniversary as a content creator.

The streamer admitted that growth has been stagnant in terms of streaming metrics due to an irregular schedule.

To compensate for the lack of recent streams, a longer session featuring singing is planned, despite the potential for throat strain.