HAWANA 2025 Forum: Media industry told to empower AI to gain competitive edge
FMT Sdn Bhd's head of Bahasa Malaysia and video unit, Zahrul Alam Yahya Shahir, said the media plays a crucial role in feeding the data that AI systems learn from.
Speaking at the HAWANA 2025 Media Forum today, he noted that AI performs best when trained on structured content, as the technology prefers content that clearly outlines the issue and explains the problem.
'The content that AI gives us comes from us. That's why I say it's time for us to empower AI with our content... the analytic content that we put into social media and whatnot.
'Don't be afraid with AI; we (the media) have long survived alongside it,' he said at today's forum titled 'AI & Media: Tool, Threat or Opportunity?'.
He said that media practitioners should be the ones empowering AI, not the other way around.
Another panellist, Astro AWANI senior editor Nazri Kahar, emphasised that technologies such as AI should not be seen as a threat but an opportunity that the media industry must embrace.
He said journalism is at a critical crossroads, demanding that media practitioners quickly adapt to technological advancements.
'This is a crucial moment for us to seize the opportunity. We should not view technologies as enemies that will erase the media industry. Instead, we must set boundaries, adapt and move forward,' he said.
Nazri recounted a personal experience, going live for the Sibu by-election in 2010 using only an iPhone instead of expensive conventional broadcast equipment such as satellite systems.
'It was a new approach at that time. We used Skype (a telecommunication application to make voice and video calls and send instant messages), and the results were impressive,' he said, adding that the experience revealed the potential of technology to many people in journalism.
Elaborating, he said that media organisations should not be bound by traditional approaches, focusing on concerns over audio and visual quality; instead, they should prioritise news value and timeliness in delivering information.
Moderated by Bernama TV anchor and broadcast journalist Jessy Chahal, more than 250 media practitioners, academicians, and students joined the forum.
Also present were Malaysian Press Institute (MPI) president Datuk Yong Soo Heong, MPI chief executive officer Ainol Amriz Ismail, Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) chief executive officer Datin Paduka Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin and Bernama editor-in-chief Arul Rajoo Durar Raj, who also serves as HAWANA 2025 project director.
HAWANA 2025, the largest gathering of Malaysian media practitioners, themed 'Journalism in the New Era: Embracing AI, Safeguarding Ethics', is organised by the Communications Ministry and Bernama as the implementing agency.
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