AI Governance Bill: Mandating Risk Management and Accountability
KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 12): The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Governance Bill is set to impose stringent requirements on AI developers and users regarding the management of legal and ethical risks. This includes addressing potential copyright violations associated with the use of unlicensed or unauthorized training data.
Key Features of the Bill
Deputy Digital Minister Datuk Wilson Ugak Kumbong outlined that the bill will introduce various measures such as:
- Risk Assessments
- Transparency Requirements
- Audits
- Compliance Measures
These measures aim to equip authorities with the tools needed to identify and address AI systems that potentially infringe on intellectual property (IP) rights.
Complementing Existing Laws
It is important to note that the legislation does not replace existing copyright or IP laws, including the Copyright Act 1987. Instead, it serves as a legal framework to ensure that all parties involved in the AI lifecycle maintain accountability.
The Deputy Minister responded to inquiries regarding how the AI Governance Bill would tackle copyright and IP issues stemming from AI systems trained on copyrighted data, including text, images, audio, and video. He emphasized that the bill provides an additional layer of governance, ensuring that AI development—including the training of models with copyrighted data—is conducted in a responsible, transparent, and legally compliant manner.
Balancing Innovation with Protection
The bill aims to strike a balance between fostering innovation in AI technologies and safeguarding the rights of creators and data owners. Substantive enforcement of copyright and IP will continue to fall under existing laws administered by the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO), thus protecting digital content even as AI technology advances.
This initiative reflects a growing recognition of the importance of ethical considerations in technology development and the need for robust frameworks to address the complexities introduced by AI systems.
For more insights into the evolving landscape of AI governance, keep an eye on upcoming parliamentary discussions and legislative actions.
