KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians can expect to see an artificial intelligence-enhanced, paperless, and fully automated public services platform between 2026 to 2030, according to Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo, with the launch of the GovTech initiative slated for sometime in Q1 this year.
"The plan that we have is in two phases – the first phase is launching it this year, then of course, 2026 to 2030 is to see full implementation of GovTech.
"What does that mean? That means you're going to see a government that's paperless, fully automated, relying on services that are run and empowered by AI (artificial intelligence).
"Ultimately, we want to ensure that our citizens are able to log on to one platform, and on that platform access all government services," he said during a press event for the launch of the AI at Work 2.0 initiative at the Google office in Kuala Lumpur.
The digital minister also said that guidelines for the ethical use of AI by the public are currently a work in progress and is tentatively slated to launch at the end of February.
He further advocated for a top-down approach with the technology, with government and civil services adopting AI first to instil confidence among Malaysians.
AI at Work is a Google pilot programme announced last December in collaboration with the Digital Ministry alongside the launch of the National AI Office (NAIO).
The NAIO is charged with shaping AI policy and addressing regulatory issues as part of Malaysia's objective to establish itself as a regional hub for the technology.
The programme aims to enhance productivity by leveraging AI assistance, namely Google's Gemini, in the public sector, which is used in report writing and meeting summaries.
This would in turn free up time that is usually allocated to these procedural duties, allowing civil service officers to prioritise strategic tasks instead.
Gobind further stressed the importance of digitalisation in the nation's success.
"The Prime Minister has spoken continuously about the power of digitalisation. Almost one-quarter of our GDP (Gross Domestic Produce) is powered by the digital economy.
"The Prime Minister is very confident that we can do a lot more, but that would mean we need to encourage adoption, we need to encourage adaptation.
"And I think in this regard, you see initiatives like this being very important, so that we can actually together start in this whole development of new thinking, a shift in the way we do things.
"Accepting, acknowledging the fact that if we do things the old way, we are not going to be able to see the results that technology will provide the entire world as we go along," he said.
The launch covered the integration of generative AI across Google Workspace, NotebookLM Plus, and Gemini Advanced, the company's conversational AI tool, for Malaysia's civil service officers for use in collaborative work, coding, and as citizen-facing agents.
Up to 445,000 Malaysian public officers will have access to Google's suite of AI features up to 2028 via Google Workspace without any additional costs.
Google Cloud's Asia Pacific managing director for public sector Rahul Sharma said that the Ministry of Digital and NAIO are applying a comprehensive approach to enhance workforce proficiency and productivity.
This covers the deployment of employee agents through Google Workspace with Gemini, accelerating adoption across agencies by having other adopters champion the technology, and quantifying the value of AI.
"Our partnership is establishing the Government of Malaysia as a leader in reimagining how work gets done and serving as the blueprint for governments and enterprises in the region looking to derive measurable value from AI adoption at scale.
"We look forward to continuing to advance Malaysia’s national AI agenda through AI at Work 2.0, as well as other joint initiatives,” he said.
Source: The Star