JustAskProf, Founded by industry veterans Keith Carter, Amaline Lim, Emmanuel Carter, Ian Hai En and Jess Uy in March, JustAskProf is a free-to-use AI tutor platform that is powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
The platform aims to aid parents in helping their children prepare for various examinations, including PSLE, A-levels, O-levels, International Baccalaureate (IB), as well as industry certifications such as cybersecurity, and analytics.
With JustAskProf, parents and their children can explore and learn different topics such as economics and biology. What sets the platform apart is its ability to provide translations from English to multiple languages such as Malay, Hindi, and Chinese.
According to Keith, this feature proves to be especially useful for expats and others who have moved to Singapore as well as those who may struggle in English proficiency, as it empowers them to grasp the content thoroughly and effectively teach their children with confidence.
The idea behind creating JustAskProf stems from Keith’s personal experience of moving to Singapore with his wife and two children. As a parent, he aspired to play a more active role in his children’s education but keeping up with the syllabus, particularly for subjects like Chinese and Science, proved challenging.
Keith found himself helping out his youngest son, who was studying IB Economics and Biology, which was where he got the idea to leverage ChatGPT for assistance. The chatbot devised quizzes for his son and subsequently generated a comprehensive report card that included grades, insights into his strengths, as well as areas that required additional study.
Keith knew that he was on to something, so he (and the rest of the founders) begun building JustAskProf in December. The platform was launched in March, and is currently in its beta version.
One of the key problems with ChatGPT is that it is too “free-form”, meaning that the chatbot can go out of topic often. This is why Keith decided to build the platform with constraints to ensure that the chatbot avoids veering off course.
JustAskProf also incorporates additional guardrails to redirect students who venture off-topic, guiding them back to the subject they are supposed to be studying. Additionally, considering that a large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT is strong in checking and testing facts but weak in math, the team specifically curated its educational selection to focus on subjects like economics and general science.
The platform has not only been proven to be useful for parents looking to be more involved in their child’s education, but also acts as a supplement for volunteer tutors in Singapore. In addition, it aids mid-career learners to test themselves on certifications.
To date, JustAskProf’s user base extends beyond Singapore, encompassing regions such as South East Asia, India, Japan, the US, and the Caribbean.
