Bernama, Unisza Exchange Research Agreement To Develop Dataspeak News System

KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 (Bernama) -- Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) held an exchange of Research Agreement (RA) with the Malaysian National News Organisation (Bernama) today to develop the DataSpeak News system.

UniSZA vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr. Fadzli Adam said that DataSpeak News utilises artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse trends and sentiments in social media platforms and online portals through news produced by Bernama.

“The system was developed by the Faculty of Informatics and Computing, Unisza. The process will run for two years through a research sponsorship of RM150,000. This is an early start and it will be further developed through sending students for internships and specialist attachments at UniSZA.

"DataSpeak News is an IT (information technology) expertise to identify tendencies and sentiments among readers. That information is needed by Bernama which can determine preliminary findings through available analytical data," he told Bernama after the ceremony at Wisma Bernama here.

Meanwhile, the head of the DataSpeak News project, Assoc Prof Dr. Azwa Abdul Aziz, who is also the head of the Smart Technology and Systems Cluster at UniSZA, said that the system is the first project developed by the university to create its own algorithm in addition to understanding the context of social media in Malaysia.

"If we look at what's currently available, it's from abroad, and its accuracy is questionable, especially considering the slang and mixed language. Secondly, to create a solution not only to identify sentiments, we must integrate with a new branch of AI called explainable AI to help identify issues and trends," he said.

Meanwhile, Bernama chief executive officer Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin said the collaboration demonstrated the ability and capability to explore new technologies, especially in AI. 

“This collaboration started in 2021, to share data and information related to the general election. In December 2023, we signed the RA and today we held the official RA exchange ceremony.

“In 2021, UniSZA assisted Bernama in conducting a sentiment analysis of the voter turnout. So, I see this as an opportunity that needs to be explored.  Hopefully, this collaboration is mutually beneficial to both parties and the results can be used by others as well,” she said.

-- BERNAMA