SERDANG: The "AI for Rakyat" is a self-learning portal to introduce artificial intelligence (AI) to the masses and to rid fears that AI will replace humans, says Rafizi Ramli.
The Economy Minister said that the self-learning portal, designed by the Economy Ministry and Intel, will bring AI to the masses in four languages - English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil.
The minister further said that the government has a target of one million Malaysians being able to master AI skills in three years.
Rafizi said this in his welcoming speech at the officiation ceremony of "AI for Rakyat" on Tuesday (Jan 16) which was launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at Universiti Putra Malaysia here.
ALSO READ: Anwar: Embracing new tech like AI starts with me
"The aspiration of the country to be a higher income nation can be realised with the usage of technology such as AI. This is because a report had stated that there is a potential to generate US$113.4bil in Malaysia if AI technology is used in all sectors.
"This is a quarter of the gross domestic product of Malaysia.
"Malaysia has set the aspiration of launching the 'KL20' blueprint to place Malaysia among the top 20 countries globally that offer the best ecosystem to incubate startup businesses," said Rafizi, pointing out the potential to reset Malaysia as the Asean gateway for AI technology.
He said that to ensure it becomes a reality, there must be a strong ecosystem, and an open policy on data and talents.
"The government ministries and agencies must work together with industry players to reach the masses," said Rafizi.
He said that the government has created strategic partnerships to achieve such conditions and create the needed policies.
Rafizi said for an ecosystem for AI, there must be optimal end-to-end conditions and wholesome policies.
"Without trustworthy data and secure channels, the products and services driven by AI technology cannot be implemented properly.
"To be the regional and global AI hub, we must be able to create new usages for AI. This can only be done if we have ready and accessible data," said Rafizi, pointing out that the recently launched Central Database Hub (Padu) is a step towards that.
He said that the proposed Omnibus Act in the works will enable data sharing between different government agencies.
"The third and most important element to turn Malaysia into an AI global hub is to elevate the digital skills and startup skills at all levels of the community.
"We have to identify the challenges and talents in the Malaysian landscape and introduce efforts in education curriculum (to teach AI skills).
"With the proper understanding of new technology, we can change the doubts to hope, change our fears to be our enablers and attract the digital talents among us to further widen their knowledge and develop new technology in line with the government's aspirations as an AI global leader," said Rafizi.
The public can access "AI for Rakyat" through www.ai.gov.my.
