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The ocean is entering a new era of exploration. Advances in science and technology are revealing more about its ecosystems, while new approaches to education and storytelling are bringing those discoveries to wider audiences.
At the opening of OceanX Summit 2026 aboard R/V OceanXplorer in Singapore, a central question emerged: how can growing knowledge of the ocean translate into meaningful action?
From Singapore's leadership in regional ocean science to innovations in artificial intelligence and immersive education, the first day's conversations explored how discovery can inform decisions, inspire future generations and shape a more sustainable relationship with the ocean.
Opening the Summit, OceanX co-founder and co-CEO Mark Dalio introduced five frontiers guiding the programme: education, leadership, ocean science, the blue economy and collaboration.
Dalio spoke about Singapore's importance to OceanX, describing it as a second home and an important base for the organisation's work across Southeast Asia. He encouraged participants to move beyond familiar disciplines and build relationships that could lead to new opportunities for ocean exploration and engagement.
Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy, Trade and Industry (Trade), Gan Kim Yong, reinforced the importance of translating scientific knowledge into practical decisions.
“Ultimately, we also need better knowledge to make better policy decisions,” he said.
The Deputy Prime Minister highlighted the OceanX and National University of Singapore's Monsoon Rise expedition as an example of regional scientific collaboration. Researchers from Singapore and across Southeast Asia and the Pacific explored a largely unknown area of the eastern Indian Ocean, mapping more than 8,300 square kilometres of seafloor and collecting biological samples from the deep.
He also addressed the importance of international cooperation as countries implement the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement).
For Singapore, scientific cooperation is closely connected to its own future as a coastal nation. Gan highlighted efforts to strengthen marine and climate science, prepare for rising sea levels and develop new technologies that support ocean research.
“This is why the connections between science, technology, investment and policy matter,” he said.
His remarks established a central theme for the Summit: scientific discovery holds its greatest value when the knowledge it generates can help inform decisions that affect the ocean and the communities that depend on it.
Understanding the ocean requires sophisticated scientific tools. Connecting people to what those tools reveal presents a different challenge.
Filmmaker and deep-sea explorer James Cameron explored that relationship in Into the Unknown, a conversation with CNN's Will Ripley.
Reflecting on his historic solo descent to Challenger Deep, Cameron spoke about the importance of witnessing places few people will ever experience firsthand.
“The importance of sending a human is that they could bear witness to something that no one else has ever seen and come back and tell the story.”
Cameron's longstanding relationship with OceanX includes advising on OceanXplorer's transformation into a scientific research and filmmaking platform, bringing exploration and storytelling together aboard the vessel.
He also looked towards the future of autonomous vehicles and AI-powered robotic systems, which could dramatically expand the scale of scientific observation across the ocean.
Yet Cameron continued to return to the importance of people. Technology can take us further into the unknown, while human curiosity and storytelling help connect those discoveries with the world.
That idea carried into The Power of Storytelling to Drive Change, featuring Jill Tiefenthaler, CEO of the National Geographic Society, and wildlife filmmaker James Honeyborne, moderated by Sarah Cragg, Director of APAC, Earthshot Prize.
“Science and education are our foundation, but storytelling is our superpower,” Tiefenthaler said.
Drawing on National Geographic's long history of exploration, she highlighted the importance of awe and human connection in turning awareness into genuine concern for the natural world.
Honeyborne reflected on the influence of Blue Planet II, which helped bring marine plastic pollution into mainstream public discussion. The series was followed by increased public attention and reported changes in consumer attitudes, although research into lasting behavioural change presented a more complex picture.
For Honeyborne, storytelling's contribution lies in making scientific evidence accessible and emotionally compelling, helping build momentum around research and advocacy already underway.
Cragg brought the perspective of the Earthshot Prize, which elevates environmental solutions and the people leading them.
“The momentum of progress is the biggest story in the world today,” she said.
Across these discussions, a shared principle emerged: scientific knowledge becomes more powerful when people can connect with it, understand its relevance and see opportunities to contribute.
That connection is taking new forms through immersive technology, digital art and interactive experiences.
In New Mediums, New Mindsets, artists, designers and researchers explored how audiences can move beyond observing the ocean to experiencing it in new ways.
Takashi Kudo of teamLab discussed the collective's approach to immersive environments, where the relationship between an artwork and its audience changes through participation.
Cyrill Gutsch, founder of Parley for the Oceans, examined the role of design in rethinking systems that shape humanity's relationship with the natural world. Associate Professor Ina Conradi of Nanyang Technological University explored the possibilities created when art and scientific understanding inform one another.
Professor Daniel Pimentel of the University of Oregon offered insight into the psychology of immersive experiences. He described how virtual environments can create a sense of personal involvement, allowing people to experience environmental challenges in ways that feel immediate and meaningful.
Moderated by Tamara Lamuniere, President of Tatler Asia, the conversation highlighted the potential for immersive media to create stronger connections between audiences and ocean science.
These ideas extended beyond the discussions themselves. Throughout OceanXplorer, immersive installations invited Summit participants to explore marine ecosystems through interactive experiences.
The opportunity for education is particularly significant. As immersive technologies become more accessible, they could help bring ocean science to people and communities who may never have the opportunity to experience the ocean firsthand.
The question of access was equally important in discussions about developing the next generation of ocean leaders.
In a conversation moderated by Jennifer Lewis, Lead, Strategic Partnerships at Temasek Trust, Mark Dalio and Anderson Tanoto of the Tanoto Foundation explored how their partnership is creating new pathways for young people across Southeast Asia.
Since 2024, OceanX Education and the Tanoto Foundation have collaborated to provide hands-on learning opportunities, including programmes that bring students aboard OceanXplorer to work alongside scientists and explore careers connected to the ocean.
But expanding those opportunities requires approaches that can reach far beyond the capacity of a research vessel.
“The last thing we want is for our collaboration and partnership to stop at 50, 60 students a year that can go on board,” Tanoto said.
The discussion explored ways to expand learning through university collaborations, hackathons and educational programmes that connect young people with different disciplines involved in ocean research.
Dalio shared the example of a former Young Explorer whose research on seagrass developed into a role as an ocean science communicator. Her work was subsequently featured in OceanX's exhibition at Singapore's ArtScience Museum.
The example illustrated how an initial opportunity to experience ocean science can become the foundation for continued learning and professional development.
That potential was brought to life through OceanX Changemakers: Emerging Leaders Spotlight, introduced by Maria Wilhelm of the Avatar Alliance Foundation.
Muralidhara Ram Murugan, a Malaysian marine biology student and OceanX fellow, spoke about witnessing changes to the coral reefs he had known throughout his childhood. His experiences inspired ReefSpark, a system using 3D modelling and data analysis to support coral reef monitoring.
“The fix for this is not a faster underwater pencil or a bigger slate board. It's to build something that I've never built before with the people I've never expected to meet,” he said.
Fellow OceanX Changemaker Lewis Kimaru shared a very different journey. Growing up in central Kenya, far from the coast, he dreamed of seeing the ocean. His passion for technology eventually brought him into ocean storytelling and immersive media through OceanX Education.
Their experiences, alongside those of Bodhi Patil and Brigitta Maria Andrea Gunawan, demonstrated how young leaders are bringing different skills and perspectives into ocean science and conservation.
Patil challenged audiences to recognise Indigenous knowledge and include younger generations in decision-making, while Gunawan spoke about the opportunities, mentorship and trust that emerging leaders need to contribute meaningfully.
Together, their stories showed how access to education and practical experience can create new possibilities for individuals while broadening the community of people working for the ocean.
The growing importance of technology extended into New Tools, New Territories, a discussion exploring how artificial intelligence is changing ocean research.
Moderated by Maria Li, Director of AI Ecosystem Integration at Singapore's National AI Group, the panel brought together Benoit Dageville of Snowflake, Abhishek Modi of Google DeepMind, Kat Bruce of NatureMetrics and Emma Bolton, Head of Global Research, Basecamp Research.
The central challenge is considerable. Much of the ocean remains poorly mapped, while the scientific information already available is often fragmented across different institutions and research disciplines.
New technologies are beginning to change both how ocean data is collected and how researchers can use it.
Bolton described advances in genetic sequencing that allow samples collected at sea to be processed aboard research vessels within hours, significantly accelerating the journey from observation to analysis.
Bruce brought a perspective from biodiversity monitoring, where environmental DNA and emerging analytical tools are creating new ways to understand marine ecosystems.
For Dageville, AI presents an opportunity to make complex scientific information more accessible.
“Now all of a sudden with AI, anyone can talk to data,” he said.
Instead of requiring specialised technical knowledge to navigate large datasets, AI tools could allow researchers and decision-makers to ask questions directly and identify patterns across previously disconnected information.
Modi highlighted advances in AI models capable of combining different environmental datasets, offering insights into complex systems that would have been difficult to analyse a decade ago.
Yet the speakers also acknowledged an important limitation: AI systems are only as useful as the quality and breadth of the information available to them.
The implications for ocean science are significant. Better tools for collecting information, combined with more powerful analytical capabilities, could help accelerate research and make scientific insights more accessible to those working to protect marine environments.
Day 1 of OceanX Summit 2026 revealed how closely connected scientific discovery is to the people and ideas that help carry it forward.
New technologies are extending our ability to explore and understand the ocean. Storytelling and immersive experiences are bringing that knowledge into people's lives, while education is opening pathways for more young people to participate in its future.
The discussions also reinforced the importance of ensuring that these advances contribute to meaningful outcomes, from more informed decisions to stronger scientific cooperation.
As the Summit moved into its second day, the focus would turn towards applying that knowledge to some of the ocean's most pressing challenges, including conservation, sustainable financing and international collaboration.
Day 3 closes the Summit: from Sylvia Earle’s call to protect 30% of the ocean to local leaders turning hope into results, the work happens together.
Day 2 of the OceanX Summit: from treaty to discovery, and from policy to finance, scientists and leaders on how to turn ocean evidence into action.
OceanX's Roo Rise Expedition uncovered rich Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems, its importance, and its cost if left unprotected.
