KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11 ― The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti), in collaboration with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, representatives of government agencies, higher education institutions and industry players, is developing a code of ethics and governance for artificial intelligence (AI).

Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Chang Lih Kang in a Facebook post said the code of ethics and governance would form the basis of AI regulation in the country and was expected to be ready by next year.

He said at the same time, Mosti was examining the need to create a legal framework and the AI Act.

"This week in the Dewan Rakyat session, there was a question raised on the monitoring of the use of AI technology, which is a complex technology and the control and monitoring process involves various aspects such as technical, legal, ethical, policy and standards.

"The National Artificial Intelligence Roadmap 2021-2025 contains the Seven Principles of Responsible AI, which is a guideline for the development of trusted and responsible AI that can further protect the rights and privacy of individuals,” he said.

According to Chang, the Malaysian Standards Department (JSM) has also established a National Mirror Committee to come up with national AI standards.

He said the committee chaired by MIMOS comprised of representatives from the ministry, agencies, academia and industry players.

"The use of standards and legislation are complementary to each other. Relying solely on legal aspects in the regulation and monitoring of AI will slow down the innovation of this technology,” he said. ― Bernama