KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 11): The National Artificial Intelligence Office (NAIO), which will be launched next month, will study the need to upgrade existing laws or enact new laws related to artificial intelligence (AI) technology and other new technologies.

Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo said the study aims to address challenges that will emerge from the development of technology, including the issue of personal data leakage.

“We are aware of this issue (leakage of personal data), and there are also other regional and global countries that have looked specifically at (the matter).

“After launching the AI ​​Office next month, we will see the need for us to change the law, or create the necessary standards to deal with the situation,” he said during an oral question-and-answer session in Dewan Rakyat on Monday.

He was replying to a supplementary question by Datuk Abdul Khalib Abdullah (PN-Rompin) regarding the government’s measures to overcome the negative implications of AI, including the issue of personal data leakage.

The establishment of the NAIO, under the supervision of MyDigital Corporation, was announced on Sept 5, with the main focus on designing an ecosystem to ensure Malaysia is capable of becoming an AI hub in the region.

Gobind said the NAIO is the main organisation that will monitor the implementation of AI technology by sectors in the country, to ensure that all aspects will be well protected from any threats and abuse.

He said the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti) had also launched the AI ​​Governance and Ethics Guidelines (AIGE) on Sept 20, to provide an environment and ecosystem that supports the design and development of AI that is ethical and responsible.

Besides this, Gobind said the Personal Data Protection Commissioner is also developing seven guidelines that can be used as reference documents by data controllers in Malaysia, with three of them directly related to AI technology.

The three guidelines are the Guidelines on Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA), the Guidelines on Privacy by Design (PbD), and the Guidelines on Automated Individual Decision Making (ADM) and Profiling.

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