The Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz today said in his meeting with Helena Lersch, Vice President of TikTok today, Bytedance expressed a proposal to invest RM10 billion in Malaysia to make our country the hub of artificial intelligence (AI) in the region this.
TikTok through its parent company ByteDance, has already developed a data center at Sedenak Tech Park, Kulai, Johor. Bytedance is said to intend to expand their data center facilities with an additional investment of RM1.5 billion to meet future needs.
As we previously reported, investment in the AI industry in Malaysia has been announced by Microsoft and NVIDIA before. Malaysia's status as a neutral country attracts investors from East and West.
The investment announcements made by Malaysian mega companies are encouraging, but the reality is that the impact of AI on the people and the environment still refuses to be discussed openly. We often hear that AI will increase productivity but we do not emphasize the thousands of individuals who have lost their jobs. However, the government itself has begun the initial steps of preparation by offering training and education programs such as "AI for the People" for free.
The impact on the environment especially in the use of energy and water by data centers is a big issue in Western countries but not yet in Malaysia. It should be a current topic of conversation because in our eagerness to become the AI hub of the region, we don't want future generations to inherit a world that is nothing but dust.