KUALA LUMPUR: The ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI) is a focus point under Malaysia’s upcoming AI Governance Bill, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The Prime Minister said this is because the main weakness in newly-introduced digital and AI systems is the seemingly sidestepping of usage ethics.
“The AI risk and classification framework is taken into account in this Bill alongside harms and incident reporting resulting from digital and AI usage.
“Everything falls back onto ethics. Legislators will focus on this as opposed to practices in the West.
“Despite their legal provisions, their moral aspects are not as prioritised," he said during Prime Minister's Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (Feb 23).
He added that the introduction of this Bill comes at an important crossroads as it provides a comprehensive governance framework that covers the entire AI lifecycle.
“The bill is still at the early stages of development where various engagements will be carried out and later discussed at the respective Parliamentary Special Select Committee.
“Here, various aspects, including those that may have been left out, will be further discussed,” he said, noting that this is a new approach not only for Malaysia but many other countries as well.
The BIll, Anwar said, will further touch on accountability, ethics in usage while also involving AI system developers and deployers.
“As this is a new aspect for us, we must ensure that it is also taken into consideration under existing laws,” he said, in reference to copyright laws.
He was responding to Rodziah Ismail (PH-Ampang) who asked how the AI Governance Bill will handle copyright matters alongside protection towards creators and copyright holders whose materials are used without permission.
Malaysia’s first AI Governance Bill, a sweeping legislative framework, is aimed at addressing artificial intelligence risks in a comprehensive and responsible manner.
