Urgent need for AI ethics education

THE recent incident involving a student in Johor allegedly using artificial intelligence (AI) to create and sell lewd images of classmates is a deeply disturbing wake-up call for Malaysia’s education system (“Johor students claim schoolmate used AI to make explicit deepfakes of them”, The Star, April 9; online at bit.ly/star_deepfake). While technology offers tremendous opportunities, this case highlights a serious gap, revealing that our youth are not being adequately educated on the ethical and responsible use of AI.

AI is a powerful tool. But like any tool, it can be misused, often with devastating consequences. The incident in Johor is a stark reminder that we must urgently integrate digital ethics into our education system. We need to equip students not just with technical knowledge but also with a sound moral compass to navigate the digital world responsibly.