KUALA LUMPUR: Parents need to be more careful and take notice if their children start using artificial intelligence (AI) as chat buddies or "friends", says Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil.
The Communications Minister said although AI can help in various matters including obtaining information and opinions, the technology is not human and should not be considered a friend, much less a "boyfriend" or "girlfriend".
"The most dangerous thing is AI that can talk … back to us as if it were a human but it is not. It is taught by humans, with information from humans.
"If necessary, get help or intervention at your respective schools," he said when speaking at the Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory Safe Internet PTA Convention 2026 here on Saturday (Aug 8).
Fahmi said parents also need to understand that AI can provide inaccurate or hallucinate information, in addition to the information used by the system may not necessarily be up-to-date.
He said parents should not prohibit children from using the Internet altogether but instead ensure it is used properly and monitored.
Meanwhile, he expressed concern over cyber-bullying among the Indian community, especially Tamil-speaking users in a TikTok Group Live session.
Fahmi said he had raised the matter with TikTok, particularly regarding the use of AI for the purpose of regulating content that was found to lack understanding of language nuances.
He said language cannot be left entirely to AI as the system may not understand certain contexts or meanings, including sentences used to bully and prey on others.
In a later press conference, Fahmi said he had given social media platforms several months to streamline their respective systems following the implementation of the Child Protection Code (CPC) and Risk Mitigation Code (RMC).
He said the two codes had been informed to social media platforms who had been given time to understand and modify their respective systems to ensure their platforms do not become a haven for crimes such as fraud, online gambling and cyberbullying.
"The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is currently in Singapore to hold discussions with platforms including YouTube regarding the acceptance and implementation of the CPC and RMC.
"When these two codes are fully implemented, and platforms fail (to uphold it), they can be subject to court action with very high fines," he said.
The convention, organised by the GoStrong Malaysia Foundation in collaboration with MCMC, brought together nearly 500 participants comprising parents, teachers, leadership of the parent-teacher association, school administrators, representatives of government agencies, strategic partners and the community. – Bernama
