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Would you like to complain give feedback to the government and earn money doing so?

CrowdTaskSG is a web portal developed by the Government Technology Agency (GovTech) that rewards members of the public for sharing their feedback through crowdsourcing tasks.

These tasks are primarily surveys, but could include opinion polls, choice questions, and translation requests in future.

For every task completed, users can earn virtual Coins and Experience Points (XP), which can subsequently be redeemed at participating merchants that accept NETS QR code payment.

A portal for the public to share views & get rewarded for doing so

Interested users can login to the portal using their Singpass.

They will be brought to a dashboard that allows them to track their progress, access tasks and rewards, not unlike other quiz apps.

Users will view personalised tasks that are assigned to them based on their demographics.

Most tasks on CrowdTaskSG comprise no more than 10 questions each, and can be completed in a few minutes.

These include surveys on usability of government websites, as well as topics such as health, volunteering, censorship and national identity.

This is an example of one of the more light-hearted topics.

Users can earn up to 50 virtual coins and 100 XP for each completed task.

These coins can be redeemed at participating merchants at a conversion rate of 1000 coins = S$1. The list of participating merchants can be found here.

Meanwhile, XP will help users climb the ranks (there are five in total). Every time a user reaches a new rank, they will earn extra coins as an incentive.

A way to make your voice heard

Ultimately, the tasks are contributed by government agencies in partnership with CrowdTaskSG and the collected feedback can be used to improve government policies and processes.

Responses will not be pegged to any respondent, but will be aggregated and viewed collectively.

Over time, the CrowdTaskSG team aims to increase the number of survey tasks, and to include questions on a wide range of trending topics that are of interest to most citizens.

Overall, it sounds like a good deal to have your views heard, while earning some small perks. And who knows, your voice could make an impact in the future.

CrowdTaskSG is one of the many projects that GovTech has been working on. Another meaningful project that is still a work in progress is Project Pensieve.

Using AI to detect dementia earlier

Project Pensieve aims to use an app on a tablet to administer drawing tests, which will be assessed using an Artificial-Intelligence (AI) tool to detect dementia among the elderly.

These tests are designed to be much quicker than traditional cognitive tests, and can be completed within five to 10 minutes. They can also be self-administered using pre-recorded video and audio cues on the app, instead of requiring a specialised clinician to administer.

The participant will go through four drawing tests on the app, and the app will capture the stroke sequences of the drawings.

For example, the participant could be tasked to draw a clock displaying a certain time, and the AI could pick up features such as abnormal drawing sequences or extended hesitation to assess if the participant faces cognitive challenges.

Preliminary findings show the project is able to predict dementia with above 80 per cent accuracy. Project Pensieve is still in development, and its research phase will conclude by the end of 2023, followed by a study on nationwide implementation.

So far, more than 500 seniors have used the app as part of the data collection process, with most users finding it a positive and user-friendly experience.

Trials are currently open to eligible seniors above the age of 65, diagnosed with either diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol, as these factors lead to a higher risk of dementia.

Interested participants can visit the following website to sign up.

Protecting Singaporeans from scammers

Scams are so prevalent these days. If you're wishing for an app to help you detect or block potential scammers, try ScamShield.

ScamShield is a mobile app which is designed to block scam calls and alert users to suspected scam messages.

For example, if a suspicious number calls in, ScamShield will compare it against a list maintained by the Singapore Police Force (SPF). If the number has been used for illegal purposes, it will be blocked.

The Android version of ScamShield will show the user a push notification when an incoming scam message is detected, while the iOS version will silently filter incoming scam messages into the junk inbox.

Users can also manually report suspicious messages or phone numbers via the app, which will improve the accuracy of the system in scam detection.

On WhatsApp, the ScamShield Bot, which launches later this year, will enable users to report and check scam messages on that platform as well.

ScamShield is currently available for mobile devices on iOS and Android.

Top image via CrowdTaskSG website / NETS website.