02/02/2026

LYFE MONDAY | FEB 2, 2026

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Malaysian Paper

/thesundaily /

AI deepens Malaysia’s digital divide

o Usage skews towards higher income earners

Bridging gap For AI to more equally benefit Malaysia, accessibility to it should be widened for lower income groups while strengthening guidance and trust, as the latter two are existing practical hurdles ever since the technology began to rapidly improve. Beyond income, the study by Vodus Research also points to a clear age gap. Respondents aged 25 to 34 had the highest AI adoption, with about 85% reporting recent usage, while only around one in three Malaysians aged 55 and above say they have used AI tools in the past three months. With 55% of respondents worried that AI may provide inaccurate information, many Malaysians treat AI as a starting point rather than the final answer. Trust is shaping usage and 67% also say they are concerned about data privacy. As a result, verification remains common. Even when Malaysians use AI to search for information, 78% still use Google as part of the process to double-check what they find. Reflecting this caution, 39% say whether they use AI depends on the task. The findings are based on the Vodus AI Consumption Study Malaysia 2026, an online quantitative survey of 2,556 Malaysian adults aged 18 and above.

A RTIFICIAL intelligence (AI) is becoming Malaysia’s next digital divide as its adoption continues to go mainstream. According to a recent online study, while 67% of Malaysians say they have used an AI tool in the past three months, usage has risen from 48% among households earning below RM3,500 to around 80% among those earning RM8,000 and above. As not everyone is benefiting from AI equally, the gap reflects differences in Malaysians’ everyday exposure to AI, shaped by time, access and confidence. Higher-income Malaysians are more likely to have better devices and more reliable connectivity, which may make it easier for AI tools to show up naturally at work and within the apps they already use. However, lower-income groups may face more friction, from fewer chances to try these tools to limited access that makes experimenting harder. If these barriers are not reduced, the gap could widen further and become much harder to close.

55% of survey respondents worry that AI may provide inaccurate information. – 123RFPIC

AI is primarily being used to search for information or answers.

The study finds that out of all AI tools, AI chatbots and assistants rank the highest in usage.

Japanese artist chains up thrashing robot dog to expose tech fears THE agile robot dog springs up on all fours, takes a step forward and charges at the tense crowd at a Tokyo exhibit, held back by a simple yet strong metal chain. stressful, because people treat robots as objects, but we feel empathetic stress with these movements and reactions,” said Takayuki Todo, 40. Todo, who said he had been attacked online “as a robot abuser”, visited Unitree in China last year to excuse himself for the unconventional treatment of their device.

AI could one day help ease staff shortages, including in the catering sector, she said. Anatol Ward, a Tokyo resident in his 50s, said the robot reminded him of a guard dog. “In some sense, it was scary. But also it was fascinating – like, what the robot was capable of.” Todo said that “of course” he was afraid of military uses for such robots, but noted it is not just a future concern. “Robots and drones are killing soldiers in Ukraine or Palestine. “We feel it’s a distant place, but as an artist, we have to imagine it’s in front of us,” he said. – AFP

provoke thought. Like the metal leash, “we are protected by an unreliable, thin chain of ethics. And if it’s cut off, we will be killed by this technology,” said Todo. ‘Robot abuser’ For his installation, titled Dynamics of a Dog on a Leash and first shown last year, Todo purchased three robot canines made by Chinese startup Unitree, costing thousands of dollars each. One is already broken and repairs are needed for another, as the dogs often get tangled in the chain and end up crashing onto the floor.

Global tech giants are investing vast sums into humanoid and other lifelike robots, with grand plans for factory automation, home help and other futuristic “physical AI” services. But so far actual use cases remain scarce and fully automated robots are still a rare sight, with most impressive displays – including Todo’s – relying on remote operators to control the robot’s movements. For the artist, the point of the three-day installation at the Tokyo Prototype festival is to

The silver mechanical creature then starts thrashing around violently, to gasps and exclamations from spectators at the installation, designed to probe humanity’s relationship with increasingly realistic machines. The Japanese media artist behind it said he hoped the audience would consider the dangers posed by artificial intelligence but also feel “pity” for the struggling robot. “Our future is going to be

The short hourly display, on show in a business district skyscraper, is drawing large crowds, with many spectators including children curious to see a robot of this kind for the first time. “It gave me the chills. Imagining it actually attacking like that... it could be terrifying to face,” said 34-year-old student and food service worker Kimie Furuta. On the brighter side, robots and