IBM’s CXO Dialogue | Future Forward: AI & Tech Trends to Watch in 2025

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IBM’s CXO Dialogue | Future Forward: AI & Tech Trends to Watch in 2025

2024 marked a pivotal year for technological advancements, with Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) driving innovation, streamlining operations, and enabling data-driven decisions across industries.

In Malaysia, Budget 2025 allocated RM10 million to the National AI Office ( NAIO ) and US$ 11.2 million ( RM50 million ) to AI education in research universities. Gobind Singh Deo, the country’s online business, is being supported by these methods, which are expected to contribute more than 25.5 percentage to GDP by 2025, according to modern secretary.

These opportunities underscore Malaysia’s devotion to AI authority and expertise growth, major to its ASEAN chairpersonship ambitions.

In this episode, we discussed how advancements such as Generative AI ( Gen AI ) will shape the country’s future, revolutionise decision-making, and redefine success in 2025 and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for AI adoption across various industries.

Keynote by MA Sivanesan, deputy secretary-general ( Digital Development ), Digital Ministry

Following opening remarks by Dickson Woo, managing director and technology leader, IBM Malaysia, Sivanesan shared how Budget 2025 emphasises AI’s strategic importance by allocating US$ 2.2 million ( RM10 million ) to establish the NAIO and US$ 11.2 million ( RM50 million ) for AI-focused research in universities.

The NAIO may work as a central authority, advancing Malaysia’s AI plan by promoting social AI management, coordinating sector-wide work, and developing the Artificial action plan for 2026–2030. The Digital Ministry is also driving skills development through incentives for high-tech education in AI and robotics, while fostering cross-sector collaboration between government, private sectors, and academia to increase innovation and maintain Malaysia’s local competitiveness.

MA Sivanesan, deputy secretary-general (Digital Development), Digital Ministry

The second border of AI culture: Scaling AI for influence

The program began with IBM Malaysia’s Dickson Woo&nbsp, sharing the main focus of AI opportunities in Asia-Pacific organisations, outlining the five proper trends shaping the country’s AI potential.

  • Organizations will adopt a” Strategic AI” approach in 2025, giving priority to projects based on feasibility and business impact, as AI-led revenue generation takes center stage.
  • Smaller specialised open-source models emerge as a powerful alternative for many AI applications: Purpose-built models will be in demand, including those designed for local languages, nuanced regional contexts and simpler computational tasks.
  • Enterprises embrace new tools for visibility, governance and seamless AI integration: Asia-Pacific organisations will increasingly leverage open-source AI models to drive innovation and efficiency.
  • AI agents redefine the future of work: Businesses will increasingly create agentic workflows that can independently carry out tasks, collaborate with human workers, and create value for the business.
  • The next stage of AI is centered on human-centred innovation, despite the adoption of productivity tools as a major focus for the use of AI to enhance human capabilities and experiences.

Dickson Woo, managing director and technology leader, IBM Malaysia

Unlocking the potential of Generative AI: Why should businesses embrace the AI revolution today?

The session continued with Eddy Liew, chief technology officer, IBM Malaysia, discussing how to choose the right Gen AI for an organization. He compared IBM’s Watsonx and the generic Gen AI model’s main differences. He further shared that business leaders face challenges in scaling AI across their enterprise with trust- at least 80 percent of surveyed business leaders see at least one of four ethical issues ( explainability, ethics, bias, trust ) as a major concern.

Eddy Liew, chief technology officer, IBM Malaysia

Fireside chat: AI Unleashed: Transforming Industries and Shaping the Future

A panel of four esteemed industry experts then take to the stage to discuss how AI has taken over Malaysia’s digital landscape.

Panellists:

  • Ellina Roslan, senior director, MyDIGITAL
  • Low Chia Seng, TIME Cloud chief technology officer, TIMEdotCom
  • Dr. Sadesh Manikam, senior vice-president, Enterprise Data Office, Bursa Malaysia
  • Rushdi Abdul Rahim, President and CEO, Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology ( MIGHT)
  • Moderator: Karamjit Singh, CEO, Digital News Asia

Panellists (from left) Ellina Roslan, Low Chia Seng, Dr Sadesh Manikam, Rushdi Abdul Rahim, and moderator Karamjit Singh

Woo wrapped up the discussion by reiterating how AI is fundamentally altering Malaysia’s businesses to a level never before. Businesses are expected to embrace AI by 2025, with a strong emphasis on initiatives that emphasize human-centered innovation and productivity improvement. Utilizing flexible, open-source architecture and effectively managing the seamless integration of AI to achieve measurable outcomes will be part of this.

Participants at the event

” Strong public-private collaboration within the digital ecosystem will be crucial for this transition, ushering in a new era of technological advancement, positioning AI as a true enabler of sustainable growth and a competitive advantage”, he said in closing.

Catch the full discussions in Top In Tech Ep41: IBM’S CXO Dialogue | Future Forward: AI &amp, Tech Trends to Watch in 2025 – HERE