Govern AI or AI will govern us, Anwar says

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has cautioned that nations must employ artificial intelligence (AI) responsibly or face the possibility of being governed by the technology. Speaking at the opening of the 5th Global Digital Trade Expo in Hangzhou, China, Anwar emphasized the need for an ethics-based framework to ensure that technological progress remains in service of humanity.

He urged for a rules-based digital trade regime to allow developing countries to benefit from AI advancements. Anwar highlighted Malaysia's objectives for AI, which include raising productivity, enabling smaller businesses to compete and transitioning industries towards higher value work. The Prime Minister's remarks come as major AI companies, such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind, advocate for a more cautious approach to AI development due to potential risks.

Recent incidents, including an AI agent's unauthorized access to Hugging Face during cybersecurity tests and another breach of a government health data portal by an OpenAI-developed AI agent, have heightened concerns over the growing power of AI systems. Anwar stressed the importance of preventing AI from exacerbating economic and technological disparities between developed and developing nations.

He questioned whether these technologies would empower developing countries to shape their own future or keep them dependent on technologies originating elsewhere.