CYBERJAYA: Resistance must not be to the people's loss; they should embrace the free AI software subscription offered to 100,000 youths aged 18 to 30 to create an AI Nation, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Under the programme, youths will receive a free three-month subscription to AI software upon completing a course of modules on the Rakyat Digital platform, which launches on Merdeka Day.
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The modules include AI Security, Cyber SAFE, Agentic AI, Generative AI and Cloud Untuk Rakyat.
Anwar said this during his speech at the launch of AI Malaysia on Tuesday (July 28) here.
AI Malaysia is a state-backed initiative to accelerate AI adoption, align national policies and drive innovation towards Malaysia's AI Nation 2030 vision.
Also in attendance were Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar and Digital Ministry secretary-general Datuk Fabian Bihar.
Anwar said the programme, which begins on Aug 31, would be open to Malaysians aged 18 to 30 and was expected to benefit 100,000 youths.
"Those who complete the modules will then be able to subscribe freely (for three months) to popular AI apps. This will be driven solely by the Digital Ministry under Gobind," he said.
He further stressed the need for 'democratisation of access to AI'.
Anwar said resistance to change did not always come from traditionalists and conservatives, but sometimes from elites who feared change would threaten their existing skills, habits or position.
He said sociology often assumes rural communities resist change while the urban elite embrace it more readily, but this was not always accurate.
"This is the challenge for Gobind and our entire AI team: to persuade people that this transformation should not widen existing inequalities or deepen the gap between urban and rural communities, or between the wealthy and the poor," he said.
Anwar said the AI movement must adopt a fairer approach from the outset, describing this as the democratisation of access.
He acknowledged that security authorities had valid concerns, including questions over a sovereign cloud, the United States' CLOUD Act's implications for cross-system data access, and the involvement of foreign entities in areas such as cybersecurity.
"AI technology, with all its sophistication and intelligence, may seem as though it is reaching for the skies. But we do not want our religion, culture and moral values to be eroded," he said.
He said Malaysia must remain grounded even as it aspired to reach the heights of advanced nations, to avoid losing its cultural identity, ethical values, morality and religious principles.
Anwar said this was a new challenge rooted in an old philosophical concept, utilitarianism, familiar to those in education and academia.
"We do not want AI or education to become purely utilitarian. Do we produce graduates solely to meet the needs of industry? Yes, but should we not instead produce graduates who can meet the needs of industry and AI while at the same time developing into human beings with the human values and humanity that I have spoken about?" he asked.
