The event was organized pursuant to paragraph 1.31 of the Protocol of the third meeting of the Russian-Malaysian Working Group on Education, Science and Technology (Tomsk, April 28, 2026), which recorded the intention of SFedU and UTP to implement a joint research project on the topic: "Ontology and epistemology of artificial intelligence in higher education: a comparative analysis of Russian and Malaysian experience".

The Malaysian side participated in the meeting: Prof. Ts. Dr. M. Fadzil Hassan — Dean of Postgraduate Studies; Mr. M. Thavasegaran — Senior Director of the Department of Advanced Technological Research (TREx); Mr. Nor Razmi Ahmad Suhaimi is a Senior manager of the Department of Advanced Technological Research (TREx); AP Ts. Dr. Yew Kwang Hooi is a principal researcher at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Information Technology, a technical expert on the ontology of artificial intelligence.

The Russian delegation was headed by Alexander Bermus, Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor, Head of the SFedU Department of Education and Pedagogical Sciences, and project coordinator. The delegation also included Vladimir Kirik, Director of the SFedU Academy of Psychology and Pedagogy, Alexander Trofimchuk, Vice-Rector for Digital Transformation at SFedU, Andrey Bedrick, Director of the Institute of Sociology and Regional Studies at SFedU, Elena Serdyukova, Director of the Institute of Philosophy and Socio-Political Sciences at SFedU, and Oleg Kartashov, Head of the Center for End-to-End Artificial Intelligence Technologies at SFedU.

The meeting lasted about an hour and was devoted to the content of future research. The Malaysian colleagues presented their developments in the field of ontological engineering and the application of artificial intelligence in the field of safety and ecology. The Russian side proposed ten research areas, of which five were recognized as the most promising for joint work.:

Epistemological challenges of AI. How can we verify the knowledge created by neural networks if we don't know how it was obtained? Can we trust the answers of the "black box"? Comparison of Russian and Malaysian approaches to verification of AI knowledge.

Interpreted AI (XAI) and humanitarian validation. How to make AI "transparent"? Development of methods for verifying AI solutions for fairness, bias, and compliance with ethical standards. This is particularly important in education, where AI decisions influence students' grades and trajectories.

Cognitive processes and AI. What happens to attention, memory, and decision-making in a person who actively uses AI? Does the convenience of neural networks lead to "cognitive shutdown" — the loss of the ability to think independently? How to maintain critical thinking in the era of generative models?

Transformation of the teacher's role. The teacher ceases to be a "transmitter of knowledge" — he becomes a curator, a verifier, an ethical mentor. What does this mean for the education system? What competencies do teachers of the 21st century need?

The ethical and cultural legitimacy of AI. How can ethics (including religious ethics) be integrated into AI regulation? For the Malaysian side, this is especially important in the context of Islamic ethics (Maqasid al-Shariah, Fiqh of AI). For Russia, as a multi-confessional country, AI research plays a special role in the Christian context, as well as in the contexts of Judaism and Buddhism. Can AI be culturally sensitive and what does this mean in practice?

The first practical step of cooperation will be an online seminar in September-October 2026, where scientists from both countries will present their approaches to these issues. In the future, joint publications, the exchange of experts and the development of specific research projects are planned. The initiative opens a new page in Russian-Malaysian academic cooperation and creates the basis for long-term interdisciplinary research at the intersection of philosophy, pedagogy, cognitive sciences and artificial intelligence.