From Curiosity to Control: Board Intelligence in the Age of AI

Program Overview

Malaysia’s digital acceleration is no longer a future narrative, it is already shaping board agendas today. Official statistics show that ICT and e-commerce contributed 23.5% to Malaysia’s economy in 2023 (RM427.7 billion), reinforcing how technology has become a core driver of national value creation; not a peripheral “IT function.” At the same time, generative AI has pushed boards from automation conversations into strategy, governance, and accountability decisions. Malaysia’s MyDIGITAL highlights that generative AI could unlock USD 113.4 billion in productive capacity which is about a quarter of Malaysia’s 2022 GDP if adoption scales across the economy, with manufacturing expected to contribute a significant share of the gains.

However, the upside is arriving alongside a sharper risk profile. Cyber incident reporting in Malaysia continues to be dominated by fraud: MyCERT’s quarterly summaries show fraud made up 71% of reported incidents in Q4 2024, and rose to 68% in Q1 2025 and 80% in Q2 2025—a signal that board oversight of digital trust, controls, and incident readiness cannot be optional. Globally, risk signals are also converging on the boardroom: the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2024 ranks misinformation and disinformation as the top short-term risk, and its 2025 press release notes it remains the top short-term risk for a second year—an issue increasingly amplified by AI-enabled content and deepfakes.

This 60-minute ICDM Power Talk is designed as a board-level primer, not a technical deep dive focused on what directors must be able to oversee: where AI is being used (including “shadow AI”), how data and models are governed, what assurance looks like, and what questions boards should ask to distinguish real readiness from optimism. It also serves as a structured entry point to introduce Paul Smith to ICDM’s director community and to gather quick audience input (via polls and Q&A) to fine-tune the upcoming 4-hour public programme on AI, data and cyber oversight ensuring the full session goes deeper on what directors most need right now.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this programme, participants will be able to:

1. Recognise what “board-level AI oversight” means (what boards must govern vs what management must run).
2. Use a short set of priority board questions to quickly test AI readiness and surface blind spots.
3. Identify one immediate next step their board can take in the next 30–60 days to strengthen AI governance and reporting.

Who Should Attend

1. Sitting Directors and Senior Directors of PLCs, GLCs, financial institutions, private and family-owned companies.
2. Board Chairs, Committee Chairs and Lead/Senior Independent Directors who play a key role in shaping the board–management relationship.
3. Executive Directors and CEOs who also sit on boards, and wish to sharpen the way they engage with their own boards and leadership teams.
4. Nominee and representative directors of GLICs, institutional investors or strategic shareholders who must balance multiple expectations in the board–management interface.