AI: A Different Way To Celebrate Merdeka

By: Leticia En Qi Liew

Imagine a childhood without those long hours spent designing and colouring Merdeka posters every time Independence Day rolls around. Instead, every time you need a poster, your teacher asks you to type a few words into an AI website to generate intricate works that you could never have done on paper. It could even win you a couple of prizes in AI poster competitions! This Merdeka, these AI-generated posters, songs and videos can be seen all over the internet and have been used widely for marketing and promotional purposes. But the question is, does it make Merdeka any less meaningful?

Risking our Identity

Asking AI to generate informative media can be risky. Given Malaysia’s long history and varied cultures, AI is bound to get some of them wrong. Be it a Jalur Gemilang that is missing some stripes, distorted figures in the Tugu Negara, or a dragon dance that looks more like a lion instead, AI is unable to get the details that define Malaysian identity right. This poses a serious problem because all these details were there for a reason, and getting them wrong means ignoring the hard work put in by our ancestors to make Merdeka come true.

A screenshot from the video aired by RTM for Cinta Negara, Selamanya, which was sung by Stacy. It faced severe backlash for its use of AI to create this anime-style video instead of hiring actual animators. (Credit: Hayrin Matahir on YouTube)

Teaching Youths To Use AI

Starting August 31, 100,000 youths who complete a fixed set of courses can receive a three-month free subscription to popular AI apps as part of the AI Untuk Rakyat Programme. These courses cover AI Safety, Cyber SAFE, Agentic AI, Generative AI and Cloud Computing in an effort to educate young people in a rapidly growing AI world. Though most of these courses aim to teach young people how to use AI and stay safe online, they also hope to attract potential youths who might want to work in the AI sector. The main goal is to create an AI-ready Malaysia, where everyone can use AI properly and safely, which is an essential skill in the sea of AI-generated media and AI-powered software around us. Because even though AI can get the details wrong now, it might become a much more powerful tool in the future.

In this digital world, it is too easy to get caught up chasing technology. Sometimes, we just need a break to look around and appreciate the little things we so effortlessly do together: going to the mamak, chatting together, and celebrating various festivals throughout the year. Take a moment just to celebrate what we are and how far we’ve come.

Selamat Hari Merdeka!

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