As Brunei Darussalam adopts transformative technologies, the country must also address the critical need for cybersecurity. It is essential for the nation to continue to develop overall regulations and governance to ensure that everyone can continue to act in a safe, secure, and trusted environment.
In line with this, the Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI) is currently drafting Artificial Intelligence (AI) Governance and Ethics Guidelines through a collaborative working group comprising government, industry, and academia stakeholders.
This was said by Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Transport and Infocommunications (MTIC) Ir Haji Mohammad Nazri bin Haji Mohammad Yusof, who was the guest of honour at the launch of the Progresif Enterprise Showcase at Munawwarrah Hall at Setia Point on Wednesday.
“The anticipated Personal Data Protection Legislation, currently in its final stages, will further strengthen our legal framework in this area. Equally important is the ongoing education and awareness for all stakeholders in the technology ecosystem. It includes the public, users, clients and vendors that must be made aware of potential dangers when it comes the deployment and use of these technologies. More importantly we need to come together to address these challenges as an industry,” he said.
Earlier in his speech, the permanent secretary said, “As we enter 2025, the world continues to drive forward digitalisation and transformations across all industry sectors. This is also true in Brunei, where continuous efforts by stakeholders are ongoing to develop two key infrastructure projects in our digitalisation journey. It includes the Digital Payment Hub that will support instant payment transfers between various payment providers, as well as a Digital Identity platform, utilising a blockchain architecture that will provide for secure self-sovereign identities as well as providing for eKYC services.”
Moving forward, he said, “The team at the MTIC is focused on developing plans for the next phase of our nation’s digitalisation. Leveraging the infrastructure that has already been implemented, our focus moving forward will be on continuing to drive real world practical transformation that can be felt and benefit by everyone across all sectors, including Smart Mobility, Smart Living, and Smart Environment among others.”
He added, “This includes the exploration of new emerging technologies particularly with respect to AI that has grown exponentially over the past year. As a new driving force behind digital transformation today, AI platforms and tools have low barriers of entry in terms of its accessibility simply requiring an Internet connection by end-users. The level of accessibility has accelerated AI adoption compared to previous digital transformation technologies and will no doubt be ubiquitous soon if not already.” – James Kon
