Southeast Asian countries take the lead in establishing guardrails for AI governance and ethics.
Five sources with firsthand knowledge of the situation told Reuters that Southeast Asian nations are developing governance and ethics rules for artificial AI that will impose ‘guardrails’ on the rapidly developing technology.
Reliable sources have revealed that Southeast Asian countries are currently engaged in the development of regulations and guidelines concerning AI. Officials from Southeast Asian nations have disclosed that they are actively working on the creation of the ‘ASEAN Guide on AI Governance and Ethics.’ The primary objective of this guide is to find a middle ground between maximising the economic benefits associated with AI technology and mitigating the potential risks it poses. As per information provided by one official interviewed by Reuters, the drafting process is currently in progress and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Subsequently, the ASEAN members will endorse the guide after its completion.
Previously, In February 2023, ministers representing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), comprising ten member countries, acknowledged the need to formulate an ‘AI guide’ to cater to the region’s population of 668 million individuals. However, the specific details of the discussions held among policymakers at the regional level were not previously disclosed.
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