Technology

by FAREZZA HANUM RASHID

MALAYSIA’S industrial landscape is entering a transformative phase, with automation, artificial intelligence (AI) and sustainability emerging as key competitiveness drivers.

Selangor will take the lead in this evolution through the Selangor Techsphere Summit 2025, to be held on Nov 11 and 12 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC).

The two-day event will bring together global and Malaysian industry leaders, technology experts, investors and policymakers to explore strategies that strengthen the nation’s manufacturing ecosystem. 

Key focus areas include factory digitalisation, workforce transformation and green industry practices aimed at boosting productivity and regional competitiveness.

A highlight of the programme is a keynote address by Prof Henrik von Scheel (picture), internationally recognised as the Father of Industry 4.0. He will share insights into global manufacturing trends and the next decade’s challenges in productivity, skills and technology adoption.

Other speakers include John Broadbent from Australia’s Smart Manufacturing Group, Bob Gill of ARC Advisory Group Southeast Asia, and Dr Michael Tay from Siemens Malaysia. They will present real-world case studies on smart manufacturing, automation, data systems and talent development.

Participants will have access to sessions covering robotics, digital twins, AI, low-carbon manufacturing and future workforce training. The Summit targets business owners, senior executives, engineers and professionals seeking to upgrade industrial capabilities and explore innovation partnerships.

Co-organised with Hannover Fairs Asia-Pacific, part of Deutsche Messe, organiser of the world-renowned Hannover Messe, the collaboration brings international expertise and proven industrial practices to Malaysia.

Hannover Fairs Asia-Pacific and Australia MD Tim Bostridge (picture) said the partnership will support Malaysian firms in accelerating technology adoption.

“Techsphere gives decision-makers the chance to see where technology is heading, understand what is working globally and form partnerships that help businesses scale capabilities quickly,” he said in a statement.

For the Selangor state government, the Summit aligns with efforts to strengthen the state’s position as Malaysia’s industrial powerhouse. Selangor contributes nearly 26% of national GDP and hosts major industrial and logistics hubs including Shah Alam, Klang, Subang Jaya, Sepang and Cyberjaya.

Through initiatives under the First Selangor Plan (RS-1) and programmes such as Inisiatif Kemahiran Teknikal dan Ikthtisas SMART Selangor (IKTISASS), the state continues to focus on building a skilled and future-ready workforce.

Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari (picture) said the Summit reflects the state’s long-term vision for a resilient and innovative industrial economy.

“Selangor is committed to developing an inclusive and competitive ecosystem driven by technology adoption, sustainability and skilled human capital,” he said.

Delegate seats are limited, with early-bird pricing currently available.

To register, more information, visit www.selangortechsphere.com.

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PARIS — Generative artificial intelligence models capable of dreaming up ultra-realistic characters and virtual universes could make for cheaper, better video games in future, but the emerging technology has artists and developers on edge.

Already, “generative AI is used a lot more in commercial game development than people realise, but it’s used in very small ways” such as dubbing, illustrations or coding help, said Mike Cook, a game designer and computer science lecturer at King’s College London.

Such uses of AI are rarely noticeable for the player of the finished product, he added.

One study from the American startup Totally Human Media found that almost 20 percent of titles available this year via the Steam distribution platform disclosed the use of generative AI during development.

That would account for several thousand games released in recent years, including mass-market juggernauts like “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6” or the life simulation game “Inzoi”.

The growth of AI should allow studios to “merge several job roles into one, assisted by these tools”, said AI consultant Davy Chadwick, who  predicted a “30 to 40 percent boost” to developers’ output.

Progress has come at a rapid clip, with the latest tools able to generate 3D assets like characters or objects from a simple text prompt, which can then be dropped straight into a game world.

“In the past, if you wanted to create a high-quality 3D model, it’s going to take you two weeks and $1,000,” said Ethan Hu, founder of the California-based startup Meshy.ai, which claims to have more than five million users.

“Now the cost is one minute and $2,” he said.

High stakes

Industry heavyweights have come at generative AI from different angles, with Electronic Arts partnering with the startup Stability AI while Xbox maker Microsoft develops its own model called “Muse”.

The stakes and potential rewards are high in the world’s biggest cultural industry, worth almost $190 million in revenue in 2025, according to the data firm Newzoo.

Industry actors hope new technology will both juice productivity and reduce the cost and time needed to develop a high-quality game, said Tommy Thompson, founder of the “AI and Games” platform.

But “there’s a lot of distrust and fear” among workers in a sector that has already gone through several waves of layoffs in recent years, said one employee at a French game studio on condition of anonymity.

The tools “are supposed to make us more productive but would ultimately mean job losses”, the worker added.

His own experiences with AI in game development showed that in 3D modelling, “the objects produced by this kind of AI are extremely chaotic” and ill-suited to immediate use in-game.

“For the moment it’s frankly a deal-breaker… it takes as much time to fix it up as to make it” from scratch, the developer added.

Such fears have kept major industry players from making waves about their use of AI.

Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft and Quantic Dream all declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

Rather than replacing artists, AI tools “allow them to speed up their creative process” by automating busywork, said Felix Balmonet, a co-founder of French 3D asset generation startup Chat3D.

He added that his company was already working with “two of the five largest studios in the world”.

Picky players

Some in the industry already fear that refusing to use generative AI tools would effectively mean dropping out of competition.

“We will have to ask ourselves whether we use them on our next game,” said the head of one French studio who is “personally against” AI models and just completed a multi-year project “without AI”.

Most publishers and investors contacted by AFP said the use of AI was not a factor in their decisions to finance a development project.

“You have to be careful when using AI,” said Piotr Bajraszewski, business development chief at 11 bit Studios in Poland.

Gamers blasted his studio’s latest project, “The Alters”, after its June release for including AI-generated text that was not flagged up beforehand.

The studio said the content was simply forgotten placeholder copy, but the incident underscored how much weight some players still give human creatives’ work. — AFP

 

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by HIDAYATH HISHAM

THE amendments to the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588) are not intended to restrict freedom of speech, but to ensure Malaysia’s digital ecosystem remains safe, ethical and responsible.

Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said the government respects the public’s right to free expression as guaranteed under the Federal Constitution, but stressed that such freedom is not absolute and must be practised with decorum.

“The government has no intention of limiting free speech, but aims to ensure it is exercised responsibly and not misused in ways that threaten harmony or cause public unrest,” he said during the winding-up of the 2026 Supply Bill debate at the policy stage in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He said freedom of speech must also take into account Malaysia’s cultural and religious diversity, in line with Article 10(2)(a) of the Federal Constitution, which allows Parliament to impose restrictions for reasons of national security, public order, morality, international relations, and the protection of Parliament and the judiciary.

Fahmi said the amendments to Section 233 of Act 588 — which took effect on Feb 11, 2025, following its gazettement on Feb 7 — strengthen online communication regulations by expanding the interpretation of network and social media misuse.

He said the enhancements include elements of extreme obscenity, fraudulent intent, and six new definitions to guide the public, authorities, prosecutors and courts in identifying offensive communications.

Fahmi said the revisions aim to keep the law relevant to current challenges, including the spread of false information, extremist content and digital manipulation, while preserving the people’s right to voice their opinions.

He added that the step is crucial to strike a balance between free speech and the security and integrity of the online ecosystem.

“We want the digital space to remain open, but governed by laws that protect public interest,” he said.

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by HIDAYATH HISHAM

THE government is formulating the National Blockchain Policy (NBP) to replace the National Blockchain Roadmap 2021–2025.

The Digital Ministry will act as the lead agency in developing strategic direction and policies for emerging digital technologies, including blockchain, in line with efforts to strengthen Malaysia’s digital economy.

“The main focus of this task force is to identify strategic priorities in the development and adoption of blockchain technology in Malaysia, covering both crypto and non-crypto aspects,” digital minister Gobind Singh Deo (picture) told the Dewan Rakyat today.

In response to Syarleena Abdul Rashid (PH–Bukit Bendera), he said the NBP working group, comprising experts and industry players from both the public and private sectors, has been established to ensure the policy is holistic and inclusive.

Gobind said the ministry is currently reviewing key components of the policy, which will focus on enhancing efficiency, security and transparency across government, industry and society through blockchain adoption.

“The application of blockchain technology through asset tokenisation is also being studied, particularly in asset management and capital market development, to ensure transaction security and the stability of the digital ecosystem,” he said.

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MOSCOW — The United States initially underestimated China’s potential in developing the technology sector, and now it can fully rely on its own industry, rather than on US technologies, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (picture) said in an interview with Fox News, reported Sputnik/RIA Novosti.

“We underestimated China’s ability to accelerate their indigenous technology industry. They manufacture now millions of AI chips. It is very clear now their military does not rely on American technology,” Huang said.

Nvidia chief also emphasised that under the previous US administration, they essentially had to leave the Chinese market, and now China itself would not allow them to return. At the same time, Jensen Huang expressed hope that under the current US president, it will still be possible to return to the Chinese market in the context of improved relations between the countries.

US President Donald Trump previously announced that he intends to “friendly compete” for leadership in the development of artificial intelligence technologies and the production of semiconductors, which are also required for AI technologies. He called the US a global superpower in the field of AI, which allegedly “outpaces” China.

In January, the US Department of Commerce released a document stating that the United States was imposing new restrictions on the export of advanced chips and AI models to protect national security and prevent the use of these technologies by unfriendly countries.

According to the department, the restrictions are intended to prevent hostile states from using AI technologies to develop weapons, cyberattacks, or mass surveillance. At the same time, the agency assured that access to advanced technologies will be maintained for trusted partners and allies of Washington. China criticised this decision. — BERNAMA-SPUTNIK/RIA NOVOSTI

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KUALA LUMPUR — Roblox has pledged to improve safety through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and human monitoring.

Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh (picture) said the company also expressed its willingness to cooperate with the Malaysian government, particularly on data sharing and compliance with regulations.

In a Facebook post today, Hannah raised her concerns over child safety on the popular online gaming platform.

“We want a digital world that is not only fun but builds the right character and values for the next generation,” she said in the post, also uploading a photo of herself with Roblox.

She added that platforms like Roblox currently have over 100 million users globally, including more than one million in Malaysia. 

“With such a reach, the responsibility to protect young users cannot be taken lightly.

“As the Minister of Youth and Sports and also a mother, I am concerned when I see how some online games can affect children’s behaviour and emotions,” she said.

Last Saturday, a six-year-old boy was slashed by his nine-year-old brother with a sharp object in Kampung Parit Nipah, Parit Raja, Batu Pahat.

According to police, the incident may have occurred after the older brother became upset when the Roblox game he was playing was interrupted, causing him to lose all the points he had collected. — BERNAMA

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by DANIEL LAWLER 

INSIDE a lab in the picturesque Swiss town of Vevey, a scientist gives tiny clumps of human brain cells the nutrient-rich fluid they need to stay alive. 

It is vital these mini-brains remain healthy, because they are serving as rudimentary computer processors — and unlike your laptop, once they die, they cannot be rebooted. 

This new field of research, called biocomputing or “wetware”, aims to harness the evolutionarily honed yet still mysterious computing power of the human brain. 

During a tour of Swiss start-up FinalSpark’s lab, co-founder Fred Jordan told AFP he believes that processors using brain cells will one day replace the chips powering the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. 

The supercomputers behind AI tools like ChatGPT currently use silicon semiconductors to simulate the neurons and networks of the human brain. 

“Instead of trying to mimic, let’s use the real thing,” Jordan said. 

Among other potential advantages, biocomputing could help address the skyrocketing energy demands of AI, which have already threatened climate emissions targets and led some tech giants to resort to nuclear power. 

“Biological neurons are one million times more energy efficient than artificial neurons,” Jordan said. They can also be endlessly reproduced in the lab, unlike the massively in-demand AI chips made by companies like behemoth Nvidia Corp. 

But for now, wetware’s computing power is a very long way from competing with the hardware that runs the world. 

And another question lingers: Could these tiny brains become conscious? 

Brain Power 

To make its “bioprocessors,” FinalSpark first purchases stem cells. These cells, which were originally human skin cells from anonymous human donors, can become any cell in the body. 

FinalSpark’s scientists then turn them into neurons, which are collected into millimetre-wide clumps called brain organoids. 

They are around the size of the brain of a fruit fly larvae, Jordan said. 

Electrodes are attached to the organoids in the lab, which allow the scientists to “spy on their internal discussion,” he explained. 

The scientists can also stimulate the organoids with a small electric current. Whether they respond with a spike in activity —or not — is roughly the equivalent of the ones or zeroes in traditional computing. 

Ten universities around the world are conducting experiments using FinalSpark’s organoids — the small company’s website even has a live feed of the neurons at work. 

Benjamin Ward-Cherrier, a researcher at the University of Bristol, used one of the organoids as the brain of a simple robot that managed to distinguish between different braille letters. 

There are many challenges, including encoding the data in a way the organoid might understand — then trying to interpret what the brain cells “spit out,” he told AFP. 

“Working with robots is very easy by comparison,” Ward-Cherrier said with a laugh. 

“There’s also the fact that they are living cells — and that means that they do die,” he added. 

Indeed, Ward-Cherrier was halfway through an experiment when the organoid died and his team had to start over. FinalSpark said the organoids live for up to six months. 

At Johns Hopkins University in the US, researcher Lena Smirnova is using similar organoids to study brain conditions such as autism and Alzheimer’s disease in the hopes of finding new treatments. 

Biocomputing is currently more “pie in the sky,” unlike the “low-hanging fruit” use of the technology for biomedical research — but that could change dramatically over the next 20 years, she told AFP. 

Do Organoids Dream of Electric Sheep?

All the scientists AFP spoke to dismissed the idea that these tiny balls of cells in petri dishes were at risk of developing anything resembling consciousness. 

Jordan acknowledged that “this is at the edge of philosophy,” which is why FinalSpark collaborates with ethicists. 

He also pointed out that the organoids — which lack pain receptors — have around 10,000 neurons, compared to a human brain’s 100 billion. 

However much about our brains, including how they create consciousness, remains a mystery. 

That is why Ward-Cherrier hopes that — beyond computer processing — biocomputing will ultimately reveal more about how our brains work. 

Back in the lab, Jordan opens the door of what looks like a big fridge containing 16 brain organoids in a tangle of tubes. 

Lines suddenly start spiking on the screen next to the incubator, indicating significant neural activity. 

The brain cells have no known way of sensing that their door has been opened, and the scientists have spent years trying to figure why this happens. 

“We still don’t understand how they detect the opening of the door,” Jordan admitted. — AFP

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• This article first appeared in The Malaysian Reserve weekly print edition

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It provides improvements to computing speeds, graphics and AI tasks 

by CHRIS WELCH 

APPLE Inc rolled out updated versions of the iPad Pro, Vision Pro and entry-level MacBook Pro with the new M5 chip, refreshing the products just ahead of the all-important holiday season. 

All three devices look identical to the current versions but swap out their processors for the company’s first M5 chip, which provides improvements to computing speeds, graphics and artificial intelligence (AI) tasks, the company said on Oct 15. 

The entry prices for each product remain the same, with the iPad Pro starting at US$999 (RM4,222), the MacBook Pro coming in at US$1,599 and the Vision Pro headset remaining US$3,499. The iPad Pro also gains the company’s in-house N1 wireless chip and C1X modem, while the Vision Pro adds a new headband. 

The updates helped fill out Apple’s product lineup after the launch of its flagship iPhone last month. The company debuted the iPhone 17 and slimmer iPhone Air, in addition to upgraded AirPods and Apple Watches, as part of that introduction. 

The latest devices all became available for preorder on Apple’s website on Oct 15 and arrived in stores on Oct 22. The company said earlier this month that the iPhone Air, following a delay, would arrive in China on that same day. 

iPad Pro 

Apple said that the AI performance in the M5 iPad Pro bests the M4 version by 3.5 times. The more powerful chip should help Apple’s tablet surpass many high-end laptops in performance. Combined with long-overdue multitasking improvements that were released with iPadOS 26 last month, iPad owners will finally be able to put that horsepower to more practical use. 

Like its direct predecessor, the M5 iPad Pro has a thin design and includes a multilayered “tandem” OLED display — an approach that offers more brightness and efficiency. While the 11-inch model comes in at just under US$1,000, the 13-inch version continues to start at US$1,299. 

Apple also rolled out a black version of its Magic Keyboard accessory for the iPad Air. It was previously exclusively available in white. 

Apple is betting that the new tablets and accessories will bolster demand after disappointing iPad sales in the June quarter. Some shoppers may have been waiting for the updated version before making purchases. 

Vision Pro 

The shift from the M2 chip to the M5 in the Vision Pro should provide a smoother user interface given the current processor was three years old. Battery life is also slightly improved. Apple is promising more advanced augmented reality and AI experiences, though app offerings on the Vision Pro remain limited and there are few compelling reasons to use it. 

The new band, called the Dual Knit Band head strap, is designed to reduce fatigue and discomfort that can result from wearing the Vision Pro for long periods. It includes both upper and lower straps that provide extra cushioning. 

Since its release in early 2024, the Vision Pro has been viewed as too heavy and expensive. But it’s still an impressive technology showcase. The device’s displays offer a better movie-watching experience than other headsets. Even so, Apple has been slow to roll out immersive videos that play to the device’s strengths. 

With many consumers unwilling to splurge on a US$3,499 product, Apple has increasingly been touting the Vision Pro as a good fit for businesses or organisations. 

Even as it introduces a slightly updated model of the Vision Pro, Apple has already shifted its priorities to smart glasses. 

The company recently shelved an overhaul of the Vision Pro that would have brought a lighter design and more affordable price, Bloomberg has reported. Now, it’s racing to catch up with Meta Platforms Inc in the glasses market. That company’s just-released Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses are an impressive demonstration of its progress. 

14-inch MacBook Pro 

Apple’s base-level MacBook Pro is the first in the company’s laptop lineup to receive the M5 chip. 

The performance gains will be most noticeable to consumers still using M1-series MacBooks and even older Intel-based machines, according to Apple. 

As before, the 14-inch MacBook Pro is available in either silver or black and can be configured with an anti-glare display. 

The Mac range was a highlight in Apple’s most recently reported quarter, and the company is looking to maintain the momentum. The line generated sales of US$8.05 billion in the June period, easily beating Wall Street expectations of US$7.3 billion. 

Apple is working on M5 Pro and M5 Mac versions of its latest chip as part of a refresh to the higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros coming early next year, Bloomberg News has reported.

Also on the road map for the coming months: A new AirTag tracking device, HomePod mini smart speaker, Apple TV set-top box, iPhone 17e, iPad Air, entry-level iPad and a smart home hub driven by a revamped version of the 

Siri voice assistant. — Bloomberg

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• This article first appeared in The Malaysian Reserve weekly print edition

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