KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 ― The recent launch of the Malaysia Artificial Intelligence Nexus 2024 (MY AI NEXUS) programme here signals a pivotal moment in Malaysia's aspiration towards AI leadership.

At its core, the programme showcases Malaysia's capacity to embrace AI technology for economic growth and societal well-being, while also spotlighting opportunities for study and research within the Malaysian AI landscape.

Central to this is the setting up of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia's (UTM) Faculty of Artificial Intelligence (FAI), marking a historic milestone in Malaysian academia.

It took just four months to set up the faculty with a curriculum curated by local experts with international standing.

The MY AI NEXUS programme, a partnership of the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM),

is designed to unite renowned AI experts, academic institutions, industry leaders, governmental bodies and stakeholders.

In his address at the event, Minister of Higher Education Datuk Seri Dr. Zambry Abd Kadir said that the integration of AI into various sectors in Malaysia, spanning education, social systems, agriculture, food security and the digital economy underscores the nation's commitment to innovation and progress.

"We are in the fastest and most consequential wave ever. The journeys of humanity and technology are now deeply intertwined with endless creativity, meaningful conversations and spiralling exponentials of data and computation.

"AI poses the greatest challenge of the 21st century, yet it also presents the most wonderful, inspiring, and hopeful opportunity for us all.

"We stand prepared to collaborate with any agencies to achieve our objectives in AI technology,” he added.

Zambry also stressed on the need to include each and every Malaysian into the AI wave, for shared prosperity.

"The prime minister had already launched ‘AI untuk Rakyat’ some months ago led by the Economy Ministry at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). This is to show that we want to reduce the gap among the rakyat so that in the end, all of them can benefit from this,” he added.

"AI untuk Rakyat” is a self-learning online programme, crafted to enhance public understanding and awareness of AI.

It’s designed to be accessible and engaging for the rakyat of diverse age groups, backgrounds and geographical locations throughout Malaysia.

MY AI NEXUS aims to propel Malaysia into a leadership position in AI, by fostering collaboration and innovation across sectors.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), AI could contribute up to US$15.7 trillion (RM74.5 trillion) to the global economy by 2030.

In addition, the launch of the AI Talent Roadmap for Malaysia (2024-2030) and the Malaysia-Artificial Intelligence Consortium (MAIC) underscores the nation's commitment to AI advancement.

The creation of the MAIC serves as a catalyst for collaboration among academics, government, and industry, fostering excellence, knowledge exchange, innovation, and impact.

This is in alignment with the Malaysia AI Roadmap 2021–2025, which aims to address the nation's demand for AI talents through comprehensive education and capacity-building initiatives.

The importance of the MAIC is measured in four aspects: accelerating progress, cross-pollination of ideas, industry adoption and education and capacity building, and is led by Professor Datuk Ahmad Fauzi Ismail, the Vice-Chancellor of UTM.

"We aspire to give back to our country, community, and the industries that form the backbone of our beloved country. Through the integration of embedded AI into crucial sectors like agriculture, healthcare, national defense, industrialisation, and human-centric endeavors, we aim to make a significant impact

"We're not solely focused on technological advancement; we're equally dedicated to ensuring that humanitarian considerations progress in tandem with our developments,” he said.

"Take agriculture, for example. Some of the sectors do not have enough basic resources like water for example. So what do we need to do? We can use AI.

"For example, with a certain combination of technology, get the water supply and with embedded AI, if there are any compounds that are dangerous there, the AI can inform us about it and even detect the hazardous amount. We can improve our food security this way too.

"That's why, the moment we received the mandate for MAIC, we began identifying the resources available at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), and other universities. Our aim is to pool together these resources, leverage expertise, and cultivate collaborations,” Ahmad Fauzi told Malay Mail.

Ahmad Fauzi's statement echoes that of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's, who in his official address at the launch, called for collaboration and partnership among ministries and academic institutions to develop the AI ecosystem in Malaysia.

The prime minister underscored the importance of this collaboration, particularly in light of Malaysia's shortage of 30,000 engineers.

He also emphasised the importance of leaving behind outdated approaches and embracing innovative ideas as a means to mitigate the issue and achieve Malaysia's AI objectives.

As Datuk Seri Dr. Zambry said earlier, Malaysia is charting a course towards a new era, in its resolve to not lag, but to lead the global AI agenda, by establishing itself as a prominent hub for AI development and innovation.

To achieve this, he said that all universities locally, will be roped in for knowledge sharing.