WEBVTT 00:00:04.500 --> 00:00:05.600 Good afternoon. 00:00:05.600 --> 00:00:12.569 On Thursday in New York, Google's parent company had the worst day in its stock market history. 00:00:12.569 --> 00:00:19.025 On Friday, Intel lost almost 29 per cent of its value. We weren't on air for either day. 00:00:19.025 --> 00:00:23.500 So today, the news we missed, and a promise we still owe you. 00:00:24.600 --> 00:00:32.240 Good afternoon, and if you're on your way home, welcome to Saturday the thirty-first of October. 00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:35.105 This is the Saturday week in review. 00:00:35.105 --> 00:00:42.824 First, an honest apology: there was no show on Thursday or Friday, and we're sorry we went quiet. 00:00:42.824 --> 00:00:47.679 I'm Raj, and I ask what things cost before anyone says hello. 00:00:47.679 --> 00:00:53.960 I'm Aiman. I set the tools up, and then I count what they cost in ringgit. 00:00:54.410 --> 00:00:59.756 And I'm Mei Ling, reading the fine print so your weekend starts on time. 00:00:59.756 --> 00:01:07.775 Each week we sort global artificial intelligence news, or AI news, into what helps Malaysian work and money. 00:01:07.775 --> 00:01:15.200 This show is researched and voiced with AI, and edited by the AI-YA team. We practise what we teach. 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:19.210 Three stories, one Malaysia. Let's rewind to Thursday. 00:01:20.310 --> 00:01:25.896 Alphabet, which owns Google, reported results on Wednesday evening, New York time. 00:01:25.896 --> 00:01:30.733 Google Cloud revenue doubled to 30.7 billion US dollars in one quarter. 00:01:30.733 --> 00:01:34.888 But search grew only 12 per cent, its slowest pace this year. 00:01:34.888 --> 00:01:40.610 And Alphabet spent 51.4 billion dollars in that quarter, mostly on its AI build-out. 00:01:40.610 --> 00:01:43.399 Put that in money I understand. 00:01:43.399 --> 00:01:48.960 At about RM4.08 to the dollar, that's roughly RM210 billion. In three months. 00:01:48.960 --> 00:01:53.366 Fortune reports free cash flow was minus 9.1 billion dollars. 00:01:53.366 --> 00:01:59.938 On Thursday the shares fell nearly 13 per cent, the worst day on record, according to CNBC. 00:01:59.938 --> 00:02:04.771 Okay. So some very rich people in New York had a bad Thursday. 00:02:04.771 --> 00:02:08.824 I'm not convinced a kedai in Seremban needs to know. 00:02:08.824 --> 00:02:10.005 Then came Friday. 00:02:10.005 --> 00:02:17.721 Intel fell almost 29 per cent after a weak forecast, blaming slow personal computer sales and expensive memory. 00:02:17.721 --> 00:02:22.379 The Nasdaq, America's big tech index, had its worst day since June. 00:02:22.379 --> 00:02:27.503 I hear what you're saying, but my customers don't own Intel shares. 00:02:27.503 --> 00:02:29.263 No, but they buy laptops. 00:02:29.263 --> 00:02:37.221 Intel's finance chief, David Zinsner, expects that slowdown to last at least through the first half of next year. 00:02:37.221 --> 00:02:43.912 And Intel's Penang packaging complex carries a RM12 billion commitment, due to start this year. 00:02:43.912 --> 00:02:49.230 Hmm. Fair, that's closer to home than I thought. And the data centres? 00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:51.417 That's the bigger link. 00:02:51.417 --> 00:02:58.892 Fortune counts 94 billion US dollars of data centre investment recorded here from 2021 to mid-2026. 00:02:58.892 --> 00:03:05.990 Google alone committed 2 billion. When the big spenders get nervous, that queue can slow down. 00:03:05.990 --> 00:03:14.800 On the seventeenth, we told you the International Monetary Fund named an AI market correction as a top global risk. 00:03:14.800 --> 00:03:18.400 This week felt like a fire drill, not the fire. 00:03:18.850 --> 00:03:26.855 And on Tuesday, an economist said AI had given big American firms outside tech zero financial payoff. 00:03:26.855 --> 00:03:32.007 Now shareholders are asking the same thing. So what did Bursa do? 00:03:32.007 --> 00:03:37.462 On Friday morning, Bernama had the main index down just 0.04 per cent. 00:03:37.462 --> 00:03:41.593 Chip names like Malaysian Pacific Industries slipped. 00:03:41.593 --> 00:03:47.127 Intel's fall came on Friday night our time, so Monday is the real test. 00:03:47.127 --> 00:03:53.596 So the lesson for my shop is… never sign anything on a Friday? 00:03:53.596 --> 00:04:01.810 Close. Pay for AI tools monthly where you can. Avoid long contracts until the prices settle. 00:04:02.910 --> 00:04:10.381 On Monday, we told you the Prime Minister said one investor plans US$50 billion here, about RM204 billion. 00:04:10.381 --> 00:04:13.271 Bloomberg named SoftBank's Masayoshi Son. 00:04:13.271 --> 00:04:21.377 Later that day in Kuching, Sarawak's Premier, Abang Johari, said the plan was real but still at the planning stage. 00:04:21.377 --> 00:04:25.113 The Edge reports he wouldn't disclose the amount yet. 00:04:25.113 --> 00:04:30.002 So, a big number and no signature. Has SoftBank said anything? 00:04:30.002 --> 00:04:34.404 Fortune asked SoftBank for comment and reported no confirmation. 00:04:34.404 --> 00:04:41.626 Then on Wednesday, Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo wound up his ministry's Budget debate in Parliament. 00:04:41.626 --> 00:04:47.610 The Star says 27 data centre projects have been approved by the Data Centre Task Force. 00:04:47.610 --> 00:04:55.245 Each must meet at least 30 per cent local content, and the task force will monitor energy and water conditions. 00:04:55.245 --> 00:05:02.220 The 4,053 jobs figure we already gave you on the twenty-third, so that isn't new. The split is new. 00:05:02.220 --> 00:05:09.055 There are 3,523 high-skilled roles, and 89.21 per cent of those are expected to go to Malaysians. 00:05:09.055 --> 00:05:17.253 He also said the industry should be judged by its contribution to the economy, not just the investment it attracts. 00:05:17.253 --> 00:05:20.817 On Tuesday, that was the test we said was missing. 00:05:20.817 --> 00:05:28.027 Wait. A rule isn't a contract. Thirty per cent of what? Equipment, services, construction? 00:05:28.027 --> 00:05:29.870 The report doesn't say. 00:05:30.320 --> 00:05:38.471 My neighbour runs a small electrical firm in Kulim. Thirty per cent local sounds like his name is on it. 00:05:38.471 --> 00:05:41.136 But nobody has shown him the door. 00:05:41.136 --> 00:05:46.305 That's the line to watch. Announcement, allocation, disbursement. 00:05:46.305 --> 00:05:50.520 For the US$50 billion, we're still on the first word. 00:05:51.620 --> 00:05:59.263 On Wednesday, we promised to check whether the Digital Ministry's AI Builders Hub opened by the end of October. 00:05:59.263 --> 00:06:06.561 In August, Minister Gobind said Rakyat Digital would introduce it from October. Today is the thirty-first. 00:06:06.561 --> 00:06:08.145 The plain answer is no. 00:06:08.145 --> 00:06:11.333 No as in late, or no as in cancelled? 00:06:11.333 --> 00:06:14.420 Not open, and no new date that we could find. 00:06:14.420 --> 00:06:20.389 Today, rakyatdigital.gov.my still lists "AI Builder" in its menu, marked "Coming Soon". 00:06:20.389 --> 00:06:24.711 The Malay page says "Akan Datang", and there's no sign-up link. 00:06:24.711 --> 00:06:30.200 The reports we read of the minister's Wednesday speech didn't mention it either. 00:06:30.200 --> 00:06:34.103 So "from October" meant "from an October". 00:06:34.103 --> 00:06:34.480 Fair. 00:06:34.480 --> 00:06:43.216 The page promises four things: a profile, builder events, progress tracked on GitHub, and a place to show your work. 00:06:43.216 --> 00:06:45.098 None of them is live yet. 00:06:45.098 --> 00:06:51.644 Hang on, say that again. GitHub? My daughter's doing her diploma in Ipoh, and she'd love that. 00:06:51.644 --> 00:06:57.980 My office admin would need a new language first. She's still typing in my printed invoices. 00:06:58.430 --> 00:07:05.985 On the fourteenth, we split three ways on the Global Learning Pass, and I said the free version was enough. 00:07:05.985 --> 00:07:10.928 I'd still say that. It's the part of Rakyat Digital that's live today. 00:07:10.928 --> 00:07:13.890 One more promise from this year's Budget. 00:07:13.890 --> 00:07:20.897 The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, or MDEC, has RM30 million to help small firms adopt AI. 00:07:20.897 --> 00:07:27.110 On Tuesday it had no published rules. Today, MDEC's grants page showed us none either. 00:07:27.560 --> 00:07:36.440 So, two doors marked "soon". I'll tell my daughter to start the free course and keep checking lah. 00:07:37.540 --> 00:07:40.785 Our sponsor gets a quick turn at the microphone. 00:07:40.785 --> 00:07:47.140 Then Mei Ling goes back over every call we made this week, including the ones that aged badly. 00:07:47.140 --> 00:07:50.124 Most AI projects stall in the same place. 00:07:50.124 --> 00:07:58.130 Someone runs a pilot, everyone agrees it's promising, and then nobody owns it. Hitower IT does the other part. 00:07:58.130 --> 00:08:06.792 AI discovery, a roadmap scoped to your budget, and the actual build, shipped into the workflows your team already uses. 00:08:06.792 --> 00:08:14.361 Strategy to code, no handoffs. Dutch precision, Malaysian know-how. A team you can meet in Kuala Lumpur. 00:08:14.361 --> 00:08:17.782 Book a free discovery call at hitowerit.com.my. 00:08:17.782 --> 00:08:24.260 They come back within one working day with where automation can help and what it's worth. 00:08:25.360 --> 00:08:31.799 The week revisited. Three calls, three Big Questions, and one thing we'd word differently. 00:08:31.799 --> 00:08:36.092 Monday's call was ChatGPT adverts at the RM35-a-day minimum. 00:08:36.092 --> 00:08:42.531 Aiman said pay for a test, I said it wasn't worth it, and Raj said stick to free channels. 00:08:42.531 --> 00:08:49.439 This week helps my side a little. Google's search revenue grew 12 per cent, its slowest this year. 00:08:49.439 --> 00:08:56.135 An analyst quoted by Fortune worries AI is eating into search. Attention is moving to chatbots. 00:08:56.135 --> 00:09:03.334 Attention was never my worry. Measurement was, and nothing this week fixed it. So my call stands. 00:09:03.334 --> 00:09:10.928 I'd push back on that. A two-week test at RM35 a day costs RM490, and you can cap it there. 00:09:10.928 --> 00:09:17.004 And afterwards, you still can't tell what the RM490 bought. 00:09:17.004 --> 00:09:19.526 Okay, but let me finish my thought. 00:09:19.526 --> 00:09:25.289 Advertise one product, send people to one page, and count the enquiries by hand. 00:09:25.289 --> 00:09:28.099 Crude, but it's a number you can trust. 00:09:28.099 --> 00:09:32.977 Fair, I hadn't treated a hand count as measurement. So it's a split. 00:09:32.977 --> 00:09:38.930 If you'll count by hand, a capped test is defensible. If you won't, my call stands. 00:09:38.930 --> 00:09:45.600 Tuesday was ChatGPT Plus, at RM99.90 a month on Malaysia's App Store. What changed? 00:09:46.050 --> 00:09:52.944 Nothing moved the price. Aiman said pay, I said the free tier was enough, and Raj said no. 00:09:52.944 --> 00:09:54.552 What I'd add is this. 00:09:54.552 --> 00:10:02.748 Bernama reports Budget 2027 adds 100,000 free AI subscriptions, so check whether you qualify before paying. 00:10:02.748 --> 00:10:11.370 Wednesday was Workspace Business Standard, for live translation in Google Meet, at RM58.40 per user a month. 00:10:11.370 --> 00:10:20.152 I said pay, Mei Ling said no, and Raj said free tools were enough. My call stands, but I'd say it differently. 00:10:20.152 --> 00:10:26.140 It's per user, so twenty staff cost RM1,168 a month, about RM14,000 a year. 00:10:26.140 --> 00:10:33.375 That's a lot of translation for one weekly call to a supplier in Shenzhen. Now the questions. 00:10:33.375 --> 00:10:41.000 Monday asked whether a Klang firm should run on a free foreign map app or an incomplete local one. 00:10:41.000 --> 00:10:45.357 We found no new official move since, so that stays open. 00:10:45.357 --> 00:10:47.228 And Tuesday's? 00:10:47.228 --> 00:10:54.160 Tuesday asked whether Malaysia should build national AI, or rent the best and fund adoption. 00:10:54.160 --> 00:10:55.893 This week sharpened it. 00:10:55.893 --> 00:11:02.673 The minister talked up a Sovereign AI Cloud and judged data centres by their contribution. 00:11:02.673 --> 00:11:06.365 Meanwhile, the adoption money still has no rules. 00:11:06.365 --> 00:11:12.995 Wednesday's question on accounting graduates had no new evidence, so it carries forward. 00:11:12.995 --> 00:11:16.450 And the thing we'd word differently? 00:11:16.900 --> 00:11:19.905 On Monday, we said Bloomberg named SoftBank. 00:11:19.905 --> 00:11:24.413 That's accurate, but we should have stressed it's a reported name. 00:11:24.413 --> 00:11:29.398 The Premier still won't name the investor, and SoftBank hasn't confirmed. 00:11:29.398 --> 00:11:32.540 From now on, we'll say "reported" more firmly. 00:11:33.640 --> 00:11:41.910 Here's the fork this week left us. Twenty-seven data centre projects must buy at least 30 per cent locally. 00:11:41.910 --> 00:11:48.016 The firms that win that work will mostly be the ones already big enough to bid. 00:11:48.016 --> 00:11:53.975 Meanwhile, the RM30 million meant for 4,000 small firms still has no rules. 00:11:53.975 --> 00:11:58.981 The builder hub for ordinary Malaysians still says coming soon. 00:11:58.981 --> 00:12:03.908 So who should the next ringgit of public AI money serve first? 00:12:03.908 --> 00:12:11.250 Malaysian firms trying to qualify for data centre contracts, where the jobs are close and real? 00:12:11.250 --> 00:12:18.284 Or the shops and workers who will never sell to a data centre, but need help just to start? 00:12:18.284 --> 00:12:22.040 Friday, the AI-YA team takes a position. 00:12:23.140 --> 00:12:27.345 One thing for this weekend, and it takes under an hour. 00:12:27.345 --> 00:12:31.856 Open rakyatdigital.gov.my and go to the Digital Skills Hub. 00:12:31.856 --> 00:12:39.578 Read what the free Global Learning Pass covers, and pick one course you could finish in three months. 00:12:39.578 --> 00:12:44.701 Intakes come in cohorts of 25,000, so note when the next one opens. 00:12:44.701 --> 00:12:49.900 Then bookmark the AI Builder page, and check it again next Saturday. 00:12:51.000 --> 00:12:57.932 AI-YA runs AI lectures, workshops and implementation training for Malaysian companies. 00:12:57.932 --> 00:13:00.189 Details at ai-ya.my/podcast. 00:13:00.189 --> 00:13:02.614 Tomorrow is our Sunday practical. 00:13:02.614 --> 00:13:09.302 We'll use AI to sort a year of receipts for your income tax relief, in four concrete steps. 00:13:09.302 --> 00:13:14.520 You'll get real ringgit costs, and clear rules on what never to upload. 00:13:14.970 --> 00:13:18.193 Which story this week mattered most to you? 00:13:18.193 --> 00:13:24.189 The market slide, the data centre rules, or the builder hub that isn't open yet? 00:13:24.189 --> 00:13:28.987 Tell us in the comments on the episode page at podcast.ai-ya.my. 00:13:28.987 --> 00:13:32.837 Let Saturday be slow, and let Monday wait its turn. 00:13:32.837 --> 00:13:37.970 Until tomorrow afternoon, look after the people sitting next to you.