KUALA LUMPUR: Global information technology (IT) company IBM Malaysia Sdn Bhd aims to foster a stronger, digitally competent workforce here in Malaysia and throughout the region with a new platform that uses enterprise-level artificial intelligence (AI) solutions.
The company recently unveiled Watsonx, a platform that simplifies the development and rollout of enterprise-level artificial intelligence (AI) solutions.
General manager and technology leader (Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Korea) Agnes Heftberger said this innovation signifies IBM's unwavering commitment to usher in a new era in AI, equipped with a turn-key approach to address modern business challenges more efficiently and effectively.
In Malaysia, the company's already established active collaborations with educational institutions include University Malaysia Terengganu and Politeknik Balik Pulau, using the SkillsBuild initiative to bolster professional skills tailored to industry needs.
These partnerships leverage the IBM SkillsBuild initiative to deliver continuous professional skills support tailored to industry needs.
"Our IBM SkillsBuild program is designed to bridge the STEM skills gap and equip the workforce for the AI era," said Agnes.
"SkillsBuild, our free online learning platform, empowers a diverse demographic with industry-relevant skills. As we step further into the age of AI, initiatives like SkillsBuild become essential for delivering cutting-edge education and competency certification," she added.
She described Watsonx as offering an all-in-one platform for business users, data scientists and developers to facilitate access to high-quality, proprietary IBM foundation models while ensuring secure handling of proprietary data.
The advent of Watsonx promises a new era in which generative AI, underpinned by foundation models, can achieve significant scalability.
"These models, once trained on vast quantities of unlabelled data, cut down preparation costs and offer scalable, accurate results adaptable to various business scenarios," said Agnes in a statement.
"At IBM, we believe that AI's ultimate purpose is to augment human intelligence, not replace it. Our technology aims to enhance human capability and potential," she added.
"AI can automate repetitive tasks, freeing employees to focus on uniquely human tasks. This is our vision of 'mankind leveraging machines'."
IBM's Watsonx offers potential across several use cases.
They include boosting employee productivity and enhancing decision-making through AI-driven automation, making IT systems proactive, addressing security challenges and assisting organisations in achieving sustainability goals.
"By automating mundane tasks, our technology allows employees to focus more on high-value responsibilities, like customer support, brainstorming, and strategic collaborations," Agnes said.
In the human resources sector, for instance, IBM Watson Orchestrate can handle routine tasks such as scheduling meetings or creating job requisitions, enabling HR staff to concentrate on more complex tasks like interviewing candidates.
IBM's successful collaborations on AI-driven solutions include the US-based National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Malaysia's TIME dotCom Bhd for climate change mitigation and network modernisation, respectively.