Malaysian illustrator Ain Moses, 25, joined a textbook publisher in 2025 expecting to build a career in illustration. Instead, her role became entering written instructions into a generative AI platform to produce images - a practice known as prompt editing - a shift that gutted the hands-on craft she had practiced for most of her life.
"I was hired as an illustrator, but I ended up becoming a prompt editor," Ain told The Straits Times. Her account of how generative AI is reshaping publishing went viral on Instagram, amassing seven million views and growing her following from roughly 600 to 9,500.
The experience reflects a broader upheaval across Malaysia's creative industries. A June 2026 study by ISEAS Malaysia economist Calvin Cheng found that degree-holders in AI-exposed occupations had a 78 percent higher rate of job losses. The creative sector - grouped with advertising, marketing, and public relations - recorded 1,087 loss-of-employment cases for every 1,000 workers between 2022 and 2025, the highest rate among occupations studied. The figure accounts for some individuals losing jobs more than once in that period.
Gen AI moves from coursework warning to workplace reality
Ain studied graphic design at Universiti Teknologi Mara, graduating in 2025. During her coursework, lecturers warned students not to use AI for assignments but gave the technology little sustained attention. "At that time, the quality of these AI platforms was bad," she said. "I didn't think it could go this far."
Since then, adoption has accelerated across Malaysia. Government departments now publish AI-generated posters, infographics, and social media content. In April 2026, national broadcaster RTM introduced two AI-generated avatars as public service announcers for Hari Raya, following the September 2025 launch of AI radio presenters Aira and Dio. RTM said the move would help it keep pace with listeners' "changing tastes." During the recent Johor state election, political parties used free tools to produce campaign videos, social media posts, and songs targeting rivals.
Voice-over artists report steep job losses
A survey by Voice Guild Malaysia, conducted between November 2025 and February 2026, found that AI had erased as much as 30 percent of jobs among its 154 members. English-language voice talents reported a decline exceeding 50 percent. One bilingual artist with over a decade of experience said her English-Malay skills provided partial insulation. "So far, the market for Malay talent is still unaffected," she said, attributing this to AI's difficulties with Malay dialects and its tendency to confuse Malay with Indonesian. "The current models also confuse Malay with Indonesian, which is a major turn-off for clients."
The digital twin proposition and its skeptics
Proxifai, a Malaysian company founded in May 2026, offers a model in which performers license their likenesses as digital twins - AI-generated replicas that can reproduce appearance, voice, and mannerisms. Founder Daniel Yap, an advertising veteran, framed it as a potential win-win: brands gain recognisable human presence and access to existing fan bases, while talents earn without participating in every production. "We see AI as a tool for creativity, not a replacement," Yap said. "AI should not replace people, but augment what a human can do." He cited studies projecting the global virtual-influencer market could reach between US$46 billion and US$63 billion by 2030.
Actor Redza Minhat pushed back. "I believe authentic portrayals of human experiences should come from humans who understand what those experiences mean," he said. "Otherwise it is just hollow and derivative." He added that such concerns might not register with those seeking profit from the technology.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's experiment with a digital twin drew public ridicule. In July 2026, he launched "PMX AI," a chat platform for interacting with his AI replica. It was taken offline after users documented embarrassing responses - including the chatbot advising one person not to vote for Anwar. Others coaxed it into suggesting holiday itineraries, which it supplied without hesitation.
Demand for human-made work persists
Ain's viral post led to concrete opportunities. She received a commission to illustrate a children's storybook for a Seattle client and was hired to design characters for a Los Angeles theme park. She has since left the textbook publisher. "Because of the post, I got a job offer to illustrate a children's storybook for a client in Seattle," she said.
Her advice to other creatives: "We live in an age where avoiding AI is impossible, but letting it dictate our lives is a choice." For those navigating the intersection of technology and craft, resources on AI for Creatives and Generative Art offer practical grounding in the tools reshaping the field.
Why this matters for creatives
The Malaysian data shows that creative roles are not being augmented out of existence evenly. English-language voice work has been hit harder than Malay-language work, and prompt editing has displaced entry-level illustration jobs. But Ain's experience also demonstrates that human-made work still commands demand - her commissions came directly from visibility, not from adopting AI tools. The practical takeaway is that building an audience and showcasing original work can create opportunities that algorithmic output cannot replicate, even as the technology saturates the market.
Your membership also unlocks:
