While the US and China disagree on many issues, both recognize the need to regulate AI—and quickly. In March, the US supported a non-binding United Nations General Assembly resolution sponsored by China calling for greater oversight of AI. A few months later, Washington voted in favor of a UN resolution sponsored by China calling for closing the gap in AI skills between rich and poor countries.
But what does this mean for Southeast Asia, a rapidly growing region with a tech-savvy population?
“We are a hybrid region,” said Gullnaz Baig, executive director of the nonprofit Angsana Council, at the Fortune Brainstorm AI Singapore conference last week. “We love each other, and yet at the same time we are always looking over our shoulders and wondering what our neighbors are doing.”
This promotes a healthy balance between regulation and innovation in Southeast Asia. “Regulation is always coming fast and swiftly here. We always have to keep our finger on the pulse. At the same time, however, we want to maintain an ecosystem that is open to innovation,” said Baig.
China, the US and Europe have each developed their own approaches to regulating AI. This could be problematic for companies operating in different markets and navigating different regulatory systems.
Companies are “looking for that common ground,” says Evi Fuelle, director of global policy at Credo AI. But AI regulations may be more similar than different. “We’ve seen a lot of similarities, even between things like the EU AI law and the White House Executive Order on AI,” she said.
But unlike the USA, China or even the European Union, Southeast Asian companies have to deal with the different levels of development and political systems in the region.
Singapore, for example, is a small and prosperous free-market city-state whose standard of living exceeds that of even the most developed countries. Vietnam is a rapidly growing economy dominated by state-owned enterprises. The Philippines is a vibrant democracy with a service sector that is closely linked to Western economies.
“It is actually very difficult to cross borders,” Baig said, citing issues of corporate recognition, cybersecurity and cross-border flows of goods as factors preventing companies from exploiting “the true potential of Southeast Asia.”
And not everyone is willing to agree to a regional plan. “You see that some larger markets in the region tend to protect their own internal market by putting up regulatory hurdles,” she said, without giving examples.
Indonesia has banned social media platforms from offering e-commerce services, ostensibly to protect local small businesses. On Tuesday, tariffs on textiles from China were also reintroduced.
Nevertheless, all speakers agreed that it would make sense to create a common framework for AI regulations in Southeast Asia.
“The good thing is that there is a fairly consistent set of principles for responsible AI,” said Zee Kin Yeong, CEO of the Singapore Academy of Law. This makes it easier for Southeast Asian governments to use other sets of rules as a template for their own AI rules.
“It’s really up to us … to try to get something done and not just wait for disruptions to occur,” he said.
CEO Daily provides the most important context to the news that leaders across the business world need to know. Every weekday morning, more than 125,000 readers trust CEO Daily for insights into the C-suite and its surroundings. Subscribe now.
