Why Adhi Shyam is Interested in Balancing Tradition with AI
Despite being awake since four in the morning, Adhi Shyam Sunder, aged thirty, joined the online interview with a friendly smile from his hotel room in Oman. No doubt excited about the topic of balancing tradition with AI.
Earlier, he embarked on a site visit as part of RSP’s efforts to develop the Ar Rustaq Structure Plan in collaboration with LEA Associates and Oxford Economics, which aims to honour Oman’s unique cultural identity while promoting sustainable growth, in alignment with Oman’s National Vision 2040.
His impressive resume does not end at Master Planning, though. He is also part of RSP’s Space+ team, a company initiative that dedicated to expanding RSP’s expertise beyond physical spaces and enter innovative dimensions such as Artificial Intelligence. Notable projects he worked on includes the training of RSP staff to integrate the generative image software Stable Diffusion into their workflow, and the Digital Human Concierges in collaboration with SBS Transit and SingPost. As you may imagine, Shyam is very passionate about balancing tradition with AI and loves helping others upskill in the area.
His Portfolio & AI
The most notable AI project in his portfolio is the creation of digital human concierges, one with SingPost named Peggie, and another with SBS Transit named AIVA, whose role is to answer people’s queries. For Peggie, this could range from the delivery time to printing postage stamps and delivery labels. In AIVA’s, this would mean giving directions from how to reach point B from point A. Beyond convenience, Shyam believes that AI is not something to be feared. Instead, it is a tool that supports innovation for the greater good of serving humanity. He explains, “The Digital Human projects seamlessly connect people of different age groups. It’s not just one group who benefits—anyone like the elderly or the socially awkward can talk to a digital human if they need help.”
Master Planners & AI
When asked, Shyam sees Master Planners as a sharp, holistic and emphatic person who can appreciate different stakeholder’s points of view, including a deep understanding of what a city needs to thrive and develop.
“A Master Planner designs and helps the city to grow in a planned and sustainable way, such that urban sprawl doesn’t take place,” he says. “A Master Planner gives a city direction.” This ‘direction’ then must consider the local people’s needs, culture and perspective. Accordingly, Shyam shares an anecdote that best shows off his appreciation for Oman’s lively, community-centred culture. Being a coastal city, Oman possesses a vibrant fishing industry. Locals go out at night to fish at the ocean before returning at midnight. By four in morning, the catch of the night is brought to a marketplace of sorts called Souk, a tradition whose origins span over thousands of years old. There, a vibrant auction takes place where the entire community gathers to buy and sell fish. Also relating to food, Shyam describes a community-wide tradition where everyone in the village would contribute some meat to slowly roast in a big oven called a Tanoor for two days. Yes, the final product is fantastic, or “amazingly tasty”, as Shyam puts it.
Integrating Culture
Keeping this vibrant culture in mind then, the Master Planner’s next question would be, “How do you design a space that allows the Omani people to continue practicing their heritage in a more hygienic and systematic way?”
From here, he follows up with, “How can tourists experience this?” After all, people go to Oman to experience a culture and lifestyle they would not otherwise get a chance to. The Master Planner’s role then is to help create the space and opportunity for people to do so.
For Shyam, Master Planning is about more than laying out roads and buildings—it’s about giving a city direction while preserving its cultural roots, to retain and create spaces that honour Oman’s communal traditions. Master Planning is about designing environments that allow these traditions to thrive well into the future, balancing progress with heritage.
More Than A Job
Rather than it just being a ‘job’, Shyam emphasises that master planning is his passion since he graduated from high school. “I did not end up in urban planning by accident,” Shyam says assertively. “It’s by decision.”
Noting once that his parents are socially active, Shyam believes that urban planning gives him the opportunity to give back to society in his own way, to create spaces where everyone can appreciate and have meaningful interactions with others.
These spaces include HDB void decks for children to play and for the elderly to relax. For working professionals such as himself, this is about the public spaces to sit back, unwind and hang out. A good example of this is the open Space Deck at the CapitaSky office.
Why He Believes in Balancing Tradition With AI
As Shyam explains, “These spaces connect people together, so it’s not like, ‘Oh, you do your job, go home and then nothing else.’ You need to make people interact with others, to come out, enjoy themselves and live a blissful life.” In order to do this in the future we will need to adapt with AI. But that doesn’t necessarily mean we need to leave tradition in the past.
As a Master Planner, Shyam believes in the power to make life better. He sums it up best in his design philosophy:
“I’m working to make people’s lives easier—not more complicated. Life is already complicated, so let’s work on a simple principle: let’s just do what is right for the people.”
Shyam’s journey as a Master Planner exemplifies his excitement towards embracing the new while preserving the traditional, all in the bid to create spaces that foster human connection, cultural appreciation and sustainable growth. In his words, Master Planning is a mission dedicated to improving lives and enriching communities through thoughtful and people-centric planning.
