SHAH ALAM, Oct 21 — Malaysia must adopt artificial intelligence (AI) cautiously, prioritising ethics, safety, and national sovereignty to prevent the technology from threatening humanity.
Gombak MP cum Selangor Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari said the country has been actively exploring the technology over the past three to four years, including attracting global technology companies such as Google and Nvidia to expand Malaysia's AI capabilities.
“I have observed rapid developments in AI in our country. However, these developments must be accompanied by careful scrutiny of the risks associated with AI, particularly as the technology becomes increasingly influential in people’s lives and in shaping public opinion,” he said when debating the Supply (Budget) Bill 2027 in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Amirudin added that Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei's remarks calling for a slowdown in AI development deserve attention when assessing the challenges posed by the technology.
“Recently, as I mentioned in a question I raised with a colleague during a Dewan Rakyat session last week, Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei said that companies involved in AI should slow down their pace of development,” he said.
Concerns about AI also include the possibility of the technology being used to influence human thoughts, emotions, and actions through information manipulation and major technology companies' control of algorithms.
“I reviewed a paper published in 2025 that discussed the possibility of AI being developed into a form of technofascism,” Amirudin said.
These developments raise broader questions about technology's power over society, including the potential manipulation of political narratives and the spread of information that could affect national stability.
“However, the issue is one of sovereignty. These concerns must be taken seriously before AI adoption is rapidly expanded across various aspects of life.
“This is a value we must assess because technofascism poses a major concern, threatening not only humanity, markets, valuations, and ways of life, but also our sovereignty,” he said.
Amirudin emphasised the need to develop a clear ethical framework to ensure AI adoption does not undermine society's and the country's interests.
“We must establish ethical principles for dealing with AI before enthusiastically and rapidly adopting or integrating it into our lives,” he said.
During the tabling of the Second Selangor Plan (RS-2) in the Selangor State Legislative Assembly on August 7, Amirudin said the state government will continue to accelerate digital transformation in its administration through AI adoption and stronger data-sharing systems between government departments and agencies.
The Teraju AI programme and the Selangor AI Incubation Centre under the Selangor International Innovation Centre of Excellence (SLIICE), managed by the Selangor Technical Development Corporation (STDC), will drive efforts to expand and accelerate AI adoption.
He noted that the programmes will focus on developing AI products for government agencies, providing professional AI certification for the workforce, and establishing an incubation platform to develop Selangor’s AI ecosystem comprehensively.
