Data, AI, Agency, and Autonomy in Southeast Asia

There is palpable enthusiasm for the transformative potential of data and artificial intelligence (AI) in Southeast Asia. This is evident in government and ASEAN policies, the tech industry’s investments, and the region’s rapidly growing e-commerce market.

But what is the utility and the end goal of data-driven optimization and Southeast Asia’s broader digital transformation? What are the notions underpinning buzzwords like “inclusive digital economy” or “ethical AI?” Are there uniquely Southeast Asian perspectives that these countries can bring to the table in international discussions on technological rule-setting? 

This Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) project maps the aspirations of five Southeast Asian countries — Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam – exploring the objectives of a data-driven environment in Southeast Asia. We show that Southeast Asia has the opportunity to redefine inclusive development for the region by raising standards for data and AI through multi-stakeholder approaches and alternative viewpoints. Conversely, the region runs the risk of ceding decision-making to outsiders and locking in structures that are ill-suited for the region’s long-term digital future. 

Join us for this conversation as we launch our report, “Raising Standards: Data and Artificial Intelligence in Southeast Asia.” Report author ASPI Director of Political-Security Affairs Elina Noor will be joined by Kathleen McGowan, Senior Director, Research, Policy, and Advocacy, Digital Impact Alliance; Ranjit Singh, Researcher, AI on the Ground Initiative, Data & Society Research Institute; and Mark Bryan Manantan, Senior Fellow for Cybersecurity and Critical Technology, Pacific Forum.

Speakers

Elina Noor (Moderator) is Director, Political-Security Affairs and Deputy Director, Washington, D.C. office at the Asia Society Policy Institute. A native of Malaysia, Elina focuses on security developments in Southeast Asia as well as global governance and technology. Elina was previously at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia, and the Brookings Institution. Between 2017 and 2019, she was a member of the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace. She currently serves on the ICRC’s Global Advisory Board on digital threats during conflict.  

Kathleen McGowan is Senior Director, Research, Policy, and Advocacy at Digital Impact Alliance. Kay has a long history as a diplomat and digital development expert from her two decades with the U.S. government. Notably, Kay drove the shift across USAID and U.S. Treasury to proactively support safe and trusted digital financial services worldwide, working with country governments in some of the most vulnerable geographies including Haiti and Afghanistan. Kay brings deep expertise in policy, and a track record of conceptualizing and launching enduring partnerships, including the UN’s Better Than Cash Alliance and Smart Africa’s peer learning network for data/digital policymakers.

Ranjit Singh is a Researcher at the AI on the Ground Initiative of Data & Society Research Institute. His research interests lie at the intersection of data infrastructures, global development, and public policy. He is currently working on a project to map concepts and keywords, and curate everyday stories centered on living with data and AI in/from the Majority World. This project invigorates existing efforts to reframe the Global South as home to the majority of the human population — the majority world — and investigate and understand the diverse ethics, politics, and everyday experiences of living with data and AI. 

Mark Bryan Manantan is Senior Fellow for Cybersecurity and Critical Technology at the Pacific Forum in Honolulu, Hawaii. His current research focuses on the nexus of diplomacy, security, and governance of technology and innovation in Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific. He is also a non-resident fellow at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, at the National Chengchi University, Taiwan, and formerly a visiting fellow at the Japan Foundation, the Center for Rule-Making Strategies at Tama University in Tokyo, Japan, and the East-West Center, Washington D.C.