Malaysia launches 1st multimodal AI model, Ilmu 1.0

ISTANBUL

Malaysia on Tuesday launched its first multimodal Artificial Intelligence (AI) model, Ilmu 1.0.

Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim unveiled the model on the first day of the ASEAN AI Summit in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia's vision is not "simply to catch up with the progress of other countries," but to also lead and offer the world "a model of innovation that is based on trust, centered on justice, and proudly shaped by Southeast Asian values,” said Anwar at the summit, according to a statement on his X account.

A multimodal AI model processes and integrates multiple types of information at the same time.

The success of AI is measured not by how sophisticated the technology is, but by "how far it can raise the standard of living of the people," Anwar added.

He also stressed Malaysia’s aspiration to become a technology leader in the region.

Ilmu, short for Intelek Luhur Malaysia Untukmu or context-aware intelligence rooted in Malaysian values over cultural and linguistic fluency for all Malaysians, is capable of processing and generating text, voice, and images, with adaptation for Malay, English, and local dialects, according to Free Malaysia Today.

According to the YTL AI Labs, which developed the model in partnership with Universiti Malaya, Ilmu 1.0 is on par with global AI models like GPT-4o and Llama 3.1.