ASEAN AI SAFETY NETWORK REGIONAL HQ TO BE ESTABLISHED IN KUALA LUMPUR NEXT YEAR - GOBIND

By Engku Shariful Azni Engku Ab Latif

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 (Bernama) -- The regional headquarters of the ASEAN Artificial Intelligence (AI) Safety Network (ASEAN AI Safe) will be established here early next year, said Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo.

He said the ASEAN AI Safe Secretariat will be responsible for coordinating programmes and activities under the initiative to strengthen regional collaboration and drive progress in the field.

Gobind added that ASEAN AI Safe serves as a network platform bringing together all ASEAN member states to foster cooperation in developing a safe, reliable and inclusive AI ecosystem across the region.

“We need to explore how we can advance discussions toward establishing a network that ensures the safe and responsible use of AI across the ASEAN region,” he said.

“So there must be continued collaboration and dialogue to ensure that each country understands the structures being developed within their own systems, and how we can collectively foster a sense of unity among ASEAN nations in formulating AI safety policies,” he said after officiating the Powering the Intelligent Age: Driving Innovation with Southeast Asia and Beyond Summit here today.

The summit was organised by the Digital Ministry, through the Malaysian Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (MYCentre4IR), in collaboration with the World Economic Forum (WEF), to strengthen cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI), digitalisation and green industrial transformation.

It brought together more than 400 delegates from 14 countries, including senior policymakers, industry leaders, researchers and startup founders.

Meanwhile, the Digital Ministry, in a statement, said ASEAN AI Safe serves as a regional mechanism to support the ASEAN Digital Senior Officials’ Meeting (ADGSOM) and the Working Group on AI Governance (WG-AI), aimed at strengthening regional capacity, fostering cooperation, promoting research and innovation in AI safety, and advancing the safe and responsible use of AI technologies.

ASEAN AI Safe will be guided by existing regional frameworks, including the ASEAN Digital Masterplan 2025; the Guidelines on AI Governance and Ethics; and the ASEAN Responsible AI Roadmap 2025-2030.

“It is also in line with upcoming frameworks such as the ASEAN Digital Masterplan 2030 and the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), particularly in fostering cooperation to build safe and secure AI systems among ASEAN member states,” it said.

-- BERNAMA