KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 (Bernama) — Artificial intelligence (AI) is a tool to assist decision-making, not a substitute for human judgment, former Chief Justice Tun Zaki Azmi said.
Zaki, who is now Pertama Digital Berhad chairman, said while AI can provide new perspectives and support preliminary analysis, final decisions must remain the responsibility of humans, guided by experience, ethics, and sound judgment.
“In the future, AI will not replace the human mind, but it will make our work easier.
“Judges must read and interpret the law themselves. They cannot rely entirely on AI because it is still susceptible to ‘hallucinations’,” he told reporters after the Wisdom Malaysia 2026 Conference (WMC2026) here today.
Drawing on his experience as former Chief Justice of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts, Zaki said the court had introduced a directive requiring lawyers to disclose when AI has been used in preparing legal research or court documents.
“If researchers or lawyers use AI, they must inform the court that AI was used in preparing their work so that the court is aware and can exercise greater vigilance,” he said.
Earlier, in his keynote address, Zaki said differing opinions among experienced judges demonstrate why human reasoning cannot be replaced by technology.
“Human beings can disagree. At the Court of Appeal or the Federal Court, we have more than one mind to help decide because judges may interpret the law or assess the credibility of evidence differently.
“That is why in appellate courts, we sit in panels of odd numbers three, five, seven, or nine so that the majority view prevails,” he said.
Meanwhile, KerjayaOne PLT chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Mutalib Razak said the two-day conference, themed ‘Learning from the Past, Looking to the Future’, was organised to bridge the leadership gap between generations.
“Wisdom is forged through experience, making difficult decisions, managing crises, and learning from both success and failure. Bringing together leaders from different generations helps preserve this invaluable knowledge for future custodians of our institutions,” he said.
WMC2026 features prominent leaders from the corporate and institutional sectors, including former Tenaga Nasional Berhad president Tan Sri Che Khalib Mohamad Noh, Cypark Resources Berhad and IOI Corporation Berhad chairman Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar, and former Malaysia Aviation Group chief human capital officer Datuk Dr Mohd Khalis Abdul Rahim.
— BERNAMA