The US and China may not agree on much, but both agree on the need to regulate AI, and fast. In March, the U.S approved A nonbinding United Nations General Assembly resolution, sponsored by China, called for greater oversight of AI. A few months later, Washington voted for a UN resolution backed by China that called for closing the gap in AI capabilities between rich and poor countries.
But where does that leave Southeast Asia, which is rapidly growing with a tech-savvy population?
„We are a hybrid region,” said Gulnaz Baig, executive director of the nonprofit Anjana Council, at the Fortune Brainstorm AI Singapore conference last week. „We love each other, and at the same time, we’re always looking over our shoulders and wondering what our neighbors are doing.”
It promotes a healthy balance between regulation and innovation in Southeast Asia. „Regulation is always coming faster and faster here. We always have to be aware of the pulse. But at the same time, we want to have an ecosystem that is open to innovation,” Baig said.
China, the US and Europe have each developed their own approaches to regulating AI, which can be a hassle for companies trying to operate in different markets and navigate different regulatory regimes.
Businesses are „looking for that commonality,” said Evi Fuelle, director of global policy for Credo AI. However, AI terms may be more similar than different. „We’ve seen a lot of commonalities even between things like EU AI legislation and the White House executive order on AI,” he said.
But unlike the United States or China, or the European Union, Southeast Asian institutions must contend with different levels of development and different political systems across the region.
For example, Singapore is a small and wealthy free-market city-state with a standard of living that exceeds that of most developed countries. Vietnam is a fast-growing economy dominated by state-owned enterprises. The Philippines is a poor democracy with a service sector tightly linked to Western economies.
„It’s really hard to cross borders,” Baig said. He pointed to issues around business authorization, cyber security and cross-border flows as things preventing businesses from leveraging the „true potential of Southeast Asia”.
Not everyone is ready to go with the regional plan. „You see some big markets in the region leaning towards protecting their own domestic market by putting up regulatory barriers,” he said, without citing examples.
Indonesia has banned social media platforms from offering e-commerce services to protect local small businesses. On Tuesday, it was Charges reimposed On textiles from China.
However, all speakers agreed that there is value in creating a common framework for AI regulations in Southeast Asia.
Zee Kin Yeong, CEO of the Singapore Law Academy, said „it’s good to have more consistent policies around responsible AI.” This makes it easier for Southeast Asian governments to use other rules as a template for their own rules on AI.
„It’s really up to us … to try and get something done, and not wait for disruption to happen,” he said.
CEO Daily provides essential context for leaders across the business world. Every weekday morning, more than 125,000 readers rely on The Daily CEO for insights into the C-suite. Subscribe now.
. „Gracz. Namiętny pionier w mediach społecznościowych. Wielokrotnie nagradzany miłośnik muzyki. Rozrabiacz”.