Malaysia’s efforts at digitalization have received a significant jolt following a high-profile partnership between two local entities to use emerging technologies to regulate carbon emissions.
Malaysia’s Sastena Technology Sdn Bhd and the Forest Research Institute have teamed up on an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven carbon intelligence, a move they claimed represents a “strategic fusion” of AI and nationally verified forest science.
The new partnership is poised to improve Malaysia’s carbon assessment, monitoring, and reporting in line with global best practices. Malaysia has already made significant efforts for climate mitigation, with its emerging EV sector turning to blockchain technology for improved service offering.
“This collaboration enables Malaysia to lead with transparent, science-backed carbon intelligence powered by AI,” said Sastena Technology CEO Jazzri Jamaludin.
Apart from its predictive capabilities, the system can optimize processes to minimize emissions in real-time. Furthermore, the ability to automate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and regulatory reporting will improve transparency while reducing the chances of manual errors.
FRIM CEO Faizal Ramli disclosed that the commercial firm will deploy its decades of forest research expertise to the partnership, supporting Malaysia’s ambitions to become the regional leader.
A blazing run of fighting climate change
Malaysia’s streak of combating climate change has seen it launch a research and development (R&D) center, leveraging emerging technologies to provide actionable solutions. Dubbed the Sarawak Climate Change Center, the research institute incorporates blockchain and AI, with authorities revealing plans for a new framework to support local companies in meeting ESG standards.
Outside of Malaysia, India has signaled an intent to leverage AI to tackle climate change risks, racking up early successes. Despite demonstrating advanced proficiency in forecasting storms, AI chip manufacturing has come under fire for derailing climate change efforts in East Asia.
China powers the future of healthcare with AI
Elsewhere, China has unveiled plans to support the mainstream use of AI for healthcare by the end of the decade, deploying solutions across leading medical institutions in the country.
By 2030, authorities say commercial applications with AI in higher medical institutions will be mainstream. Experts disclosed that medical imaging with AI will become commonplace, advancing beyond a single-disease focus to multi-disease identification by organ.
“Through this, focusing on commonly occurring diseases, AI is expected to become a reliable assistant to doctors,” read the report.
By the end of the decade, hospitals in Mainland China will come equipped with Internet of Things (IoT)-based smart devices to support predictive monitoring and smart nursing. Furthermore, the AI and IoT functionalities in healthcare will enhance the sharing of test results across institutions and regions.
“AI clinical assistance in primary care will provide doctors with diagnostic support, prescription review, and follow-up management, and could raise diagnostic capabilities,” read the report.
The upgrades are expected to have a positive impact on healthcare payments, insurance payouts, and survey completion, while improving the overall patient experience. Meanwhile, authorities will roll out AI medical standards and ethical principles to guide operations, focusing on data privacy and human checks as an added layer of protection.
Adopting emerging technologies at a breakneck pace
China is not the only nation with ambitious plans to adopt AI in healthcare, with a raft of nations unfurling their blueprints. India has increased the size of its bet to transform its local healthcare sector with novel AI solutions aimed at improving access and operational efficiency.
Despite the attempts to integrate AI, experts are warning regulators to be wary of the risks associated with emerging technologies in healthcare. The World Health Organization (WHO) has highlighted the potential of diagnostic errors and the misuse of patients’ data by cybercriminals.
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