CYBERJAYA, 26 and 27 January 2022
The University Malaysia of Computer Science & Engineering (UNIMY) hosted the inaugural International Conference on Frontiers of Digital Technology Towards a Sustainable Society (ICDiTS 2022) on 26 and 27 January 2022.
UNIMY’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Datuk Ts. Dr. Mohd Razali bin Muhamad shared, “Digital technology advancements have spread rapidly across the world, especially during the pandemic, providing every nation with unprecedented opportunities to boost productivity growth, employment, and quality of life. At the same time, we must be careful to make our technology and our actions sustainable. I have been asked many times whether digital technology/digitalisation and sustainability are opposites? Or can new technologies such as artificial intelligence even contribute to making our lives more sustainable? Is technical progress perhaps even the only answer to climate change? This conference aims to provide insights to these questions and offers an overview of the future-friendly developments in our digital society”.
Attendees of ICDiTS 2022 had an enhanced appreciation of key issues impacting frontiers of digital technology and its role towards achieving a sustainable society. For example,
According to Conference Chair and UNIMY’s Head of Transformative Learning, Dr. Nor Azlinah Md Lazam, “ICDiTS 2022 was an excellent platform for a discourse on innovative ideas given the scope of the seven theme-based tracks that is available – Coding Development and Operation, Internet of Everything and Smart Machine, AI and Intelligent Machine, Cybersecurity, Extended Reality (AR, VR, XR) and Creative Digital Multimedia, Cloud Computing and Software Engineering, and Digital Business.”
Dr. Nor Azlinah adds, “In addition to providing an opportunity for all to network, share ideas, and present their research to a worldwide community; discussion on the latest innovations, trends and practical concerns, and challenges in these fields were also encouraged. ICDiTS 2022 proceedings will be published in a Scopus indexed publication by AIP and also in the Albukhary Social Business Journal indexed by MyJurnal (Malaysian Citation Centre)”.
“It was quite heartening to be able welcome, albeit virtually, academicians, researchers, students and crucial partners from various fields to present their essential work, reflecting learnings that would establish an ecosystem which can unite and build bridges, a network of links that allows us to exchange ideas and tackle challenges, and turn them into opportunities for a sustainable society,” added Datuk Razali.
The conference was timely in view of the various digital technology developments around the globe. If one were to, for example, just solely discuss the artificial intelligence future, it could take pages and pages of write up. This is because those who work in the artificial intelligence (AI) field have been responsible for some of the most significant and astounding innovations of the past few decades. From self-driving cars to digital assistants to manufacturing robots, AI can be found in both the mundane and extraordinary. AI is so ubiquitous, in fact, that the US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that fields related to AI careers (such as computer science or software development) will grow as much as 22% between 2020 and 2030, much faster than the US national average.
On the home front, with increased automation, AI can potentially create 6 million new jobs by 2030 in Malaysia and this future of work will create new needs for skills and long-term learning in nearly every part of the workforce. In Malaysia, under the 4IR and MyDigital blueprint, the Government aims to boost productivity in Malaysia by 30% across all sectors by 2030, compared to 2020 levels – with AI being a critical enabler. To support the nation’s aspirations, the Government of Malaysia has spearheaded the development of the AI Roadmap (AIRmap). Amplified by the creation of Malaysia’s first AI park planned to occupy 300 acres of land, the artificial intelligence future in Malaysia is definitely exciting!
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References:
- https://news.microsoft.com/en-my/2021/08/30/how-malaysia-can-navigate-its-future-economy-with-ai/#:~:text=With%20increased%20automation%2C%20AI%20can,that%20nations%20implement%20AI%20strategies.
- https://www.digitalnewsasia.com/business/ai-opportunity-malaysia-catch-or-slip-behind
- https://www.bridgeport.edu/news/how-to-get-into-artificial-intelligence-field/
