Digital minister opens National AI Readiness Week as drive targets five million AI-ready Malaysians

On November 12, Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo inaugurated National AI Readiness Week 2026 (NAIRW 2026) at The Campus Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. The event aims to empower Malaysians to embrace artificial intelligence (AI) effectively by developing practical skills and human oversight of AI-driven decisions. Deo urged Malaysians to question AI outputs, emphasizing that even convincing answers can be incorrect.

The week-long celebration, themed "From AI Awareness to AI Readiness: A Purposeful Journey to Sustainable Employment," will involve several key events, including the I’m AI READY Summit, the Build a Future Team (BAFT) Leaders Conference, and the Asia AI Excellence Awards 2026 Gala Dinner. The summit offers SMEs, entrepreneurs, students, and workers an AI-readiness assessment and a personalized upskilling roadmap.

MyDIGITAL Corporation and AI Malaysia Berhad are among the organizations collaborating on the initiative. Gobind Singh Deo also encouraged Malaysians to utilize the ministry’s Rakyat Digital portal, which provides free, self-paced courses in AI, generative AI, AI safety, and cybersecurity. In addition, the I’m AI READY movement seeks to mobilize five million Malaysians to declare "I’m AI Ready" by 2030, secure RM50 million in scholarships for at least 10,000 Malaysians, assist 10,000 SMEs in adopting AI, and form an AI workforce alliance across Southeast Asia.