Government Leveraging AI To Detect, Tackle Racial Tensions Early - Aaron

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 (Bernama) -- The government is leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) through cross-ministerial and inter-agency cooperation to detect and address issues that could threaten racial harmony before they escalate, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

National Unity Minister Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang said the approach involved monitoring, screening and identifying sensitive content relating to religion, race and royalty (3R), enabling preventive action before tensions spread.

He said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) also used AI to analyse public sentiment and monitor social media trends, particularly on platforms popular among young people, including TikTok, X, Threads and Instagram.

“AI is also being used to detect digitally manipulated content, including deepfake videos, audio and images that could spread misinformation or provoke racial discord,” he said during Minister's Question Time.

Aaron was responding to Dr V. Sivakumar (PH-Batu Gajah), who asked about the ministry's use of AI to identify potential threats to racial harmony and promote unity through digital platforms, particularly among younger generations.

At the ministry level, Aaron said digital monitoring capabilities had been strengthened through the Community Sensitive Issues Reference Centre (PRISMA), integrated with the National Public Community Complaints Network (RAKAN), a unity analytics dashboard and the eSepakat platform.

“These systems help identify racially charged remarks, hate speech and racial issues within neighbourhoods, hence enabling faster detection and assessment of emerging issues, including through real-time monitoring,” he said.

On enforcement, Aaron said misuse of AI to disseminate unlawful online content could be addressed under existing legislation, including Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and the Online Safety Act 2025.

He said 8,540 posts involving 3R issues had been removed by MCMC in cooperation with social media platform operators between 2022 and April this year.

-- BERNAMA