State govt praised for setting up Sarawak Artificial Intelligence Centre

KUCHING (July 10): The setting up of Sarawak Artificial Intelligence Centre (SAIC) will position Sarawak at the forefront of AI technology in Malaysia, said technologist Ir Ts. Shawn McKenzie.

The founder of award-winning Xentinel AI praised the Sarawak government for its initiative to establish SAIC, believing that this move will expedite AI adoption among Sarawakians.

“The impact of generative AI will continue to grow as more innovative applications are discovered. With SAIC in place, we can develop our local ready AI talents,” Shawn said at an interactive workshop on AI yesterday.

He was commenting on the announcement made by Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas on July 2 that State Cabinet recently approved the establishment of SAIC, which will focus on AI research, development, and commercialisation.

Uggah, who is also Second Minister of Finance and New Economy, was quoted as saying that SAIC would play a crucial role in accelerating the development of local AI talent and attracting global AI experts, thereby enhancing Sarawak’s competitiveness in attracting investments.

Meanwhile, around 100 participants took part in the one-day interactive workshop on “Leverage the Power of Generative AI with Xentinel AI” led by Shawn at a leading hotel here yesterday.

The participants were from various industries, including the education sector and government-linked companies (GLCs).

Jointly organised by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and its local training partner Betapuru Digital Sdn Bhd, the workshop was a part of MDEC’s MD Workforce Training programme for this year.

Its aim was to encourage the Malaysian workforce to position themselves for success in the digital tech job market by acquiring highly demanded digital skills.

During the workshop, participants were educated about Generative AI and its significance in the modern economy.

They learnt how to create videos, mobile apps, and websites in mere minutes using Generative AI tools.

Additionally, they gained hands-on experience with Xentinel AI’s features, including Text Generation, Audio Generation, Image Generation, and Dashboard Generation.

Xentinel AI enables users to interact with PDFs and datasheets to streamline productivity.

Developed by a local Sarawakian company for the global market, Xentinel AI boasts multi-modal productivity tools and is the first of its kind to generate dashboard charts via a command prompt.

Shawn highlighted that the advent of Generative AI technology has shifted employment patterns.

He cited a recent survey by Microsoft and LinkedIn, which revealed that 65 per cent of Malaysian employers now prefer AI-savvy graduates over experienced workers.

“Generative AI has changed employment patterns, and I foresee it becoming a basic job requirement soon. Programmes like MDEC’s MD Workforce Training are crucial for equipping knowledge workers with the latest AI skills through upskilling and reskilling,” Shawn said.

Furthermore, he explained that Generative AI technology is becoming a general-purpose technology, similar to the steam engine, electricity, and the internet.

“The opportunities and risks brought forth by AI make it indispensable for continued prosperity. We must adopt AI swiftly rather than considering it a luxury” he added.

Despite the powerful Generative AI technology, Shawn cautioned participants to always verify AI-generated information and to use AI technology responsibly and ethically.

“The output is only as good as its training data. If data sources are crawled from all over the internet, the quality may be compromised due to inaccurate content.

“With every technological revolution, there will always be bad actors who misuse technology. It is crucial to build a community that uses AI responsibly and ethically. This is why AI regulations are necessary, ” he emphasised.