Southeast Asian countries are fighting to become the best artificial intelligence hub in the region

Southeast Asia’s emerging economies are competing to be the best AI hub—a race that’s both coming together and quietly fighting among themselves.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which consists of 10 countries with a total population of 672 million, already has certain advantages compared to Europe or the United States.

With over 200 million people aged 15-34the region’s young and largely tech-savvy population adapts the region to future technological advancements. This, combined with government support to accelerate AI in the region, could yield significant rewards for local workers.

“Artificial intelligence can significantly increase productivity in industries, and this increase in efficiency can lead to increased incomes for all workers,” said Jun Le Coay of Access Partnership, a consulting firm.Advantage Southeast Asia: An Emerging AI Leader” he told CNBC.

“Furthermore, as industries increasingly embrace AI technologies, new jobs are emerging that will require AI skills. This evolution creates opportunities for low-income populations to acquire new skills and move into better-paying positions,” he said.

Le Coay added that the AI ​​boom presents opportunities for Southeast Asia to take advantage of existing infrastructure. Koay believes ASEAN countries have made “massive strides” in significantly increasing internet access over the past decade, which has “created a digital native population ready to embrace and innovate with AI.”

Smartphone adoption in ASEAN countries ranges from 65% to 90%AI adoption is expected to take shape rapidly.

Grace Yuehan Wang, CEO of Network Media Consulting and a scholar at the London School of Economics, does not expect any of the ASEAN countries to be leaders in the AI ​​race.

“ASEAN as a region has shown strong GDP growth rates in recent years and will undoubtedly be one of the most economically prosperous blocs in the world for the foreseeable future,” he told CNBC.

Advanced digital infrastructure, education of top technical talent in the technology industry including AI, as well as world-class universities (both STEM — science, technology, economics and mathematics — and comprehensive universities), successful industry and research collaborations are some of them. There are still missing elements in ASEAN’s AI ecosystem,” he said.

Wang added that AI competition among ASEAN countries “is mainly about attracting foreign investment and cooperation with the world’s leading universities.”

Singapore steals the march

Ten countries – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam make up the ASEAN club. All 10 have published national AI strategies.

Among them was Singapore first announced its vision in 2019. The island nation updated its plans in December 2023. Its ambitions include expanding its AI workforce to 15,000 – tripling the current amount – as well as establishing research and development centres.

The Center of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence for the Manufacturing Sector was launched in September with the aim of integrating artificial intelligence into supply chains.

Singapore’s AI mission has government supportthe government has pledged S$1 billion ($741 million) in investment over the next five years.

“Thanks to R&D, the economy, the education system, the international business position,” the country seems to have stolen a march, Wang said.

Singapore tops Salesforce’s ranking 2023 Asia Pacific AI Readiness IndexHe rated 12 nations. Other ASEAN member states – Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand – ranked lower in the list, eighth to twelfth.

Localized AI for developing countries

Singapore’s muscles have not been able to stop the aspirations of its close neighbours.

As Vietnam meets global demand for chips, it is betting on developments in AI and leveraging its strength in assembly, testing and packaging capabilities. of the country national strategy It includes ambitions to become ASEAN’s hub for research and development of artificial intelligence solutions by 2030. For example, the country already 1 billion dollar investment from South Korean production extending to 2025.

In 2023, VinAI, part of the multi-industry conglomerate Vingroup, introduced an open-source language model specifically designed for Vietnamese users called PhoGPT.

A localized alternative to ChatGPT suggests that “English-dominant AI models cannot be applied to all social and cultural contexts, while at a deeper level efforts to overcome existing divisions and fears of widening inequalities between less technologically powerful regions and countries demonstrate makes,” Wang said.

German AI translation startup DeepL already taps into the regions’ “rich linguistic diversity,” which Chief Revenue Officer David Parry-Jones says is “an asset that fosters rich cultural exchange and deepens regional identity.”

Parry-Jones told CNBC that the European startup wants to offer ASEAN AI language models that could boost production, translate legal documents or support multilingual customer service centers in the region.

“We know that companies and governments are looking for best-in-class context-sensitive translation tools so they can continue to grow rapidly without being trapped by language barriers,” he said.

Other developing countries have traditionally focused on using artificial intelligence for labor-intensive industries.

For example, Cambodia 60 page report details how the developing country wants to use artificial intelligence for “social good” and agricultural technology, boosting the sector, which accounted for 22% of Cambodia’s GDP in 2018 and employs nearly 3 million people.

Digitally underdeveloped developing ASEAN countries like Singapore have greater challenges to be AI-ready, let alone achieve an AI policy.

“There are several regulatory building blocks that need to be intact and robust before AI can be reliably launched,” Kristina Fong, lead researcher on economic issues at the ASEAN Research Center at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, told CNBC.

He added that “the adverse effects of AI on users can be rapid and difficult without any institutional oversight” and that a state-level conversation is needed to “effectively manage these rapid developments with minimal public harm.”

Getting away from Europe

ASEAN countries have collectively published a regional guide AI governance and ethics in February. A year ago, European Union officials on a tour of Southeast Asia tried to persuade them to comply with EU rules on artificial intelligence.

Instead of being confused, ASEAN countries argued that the EU was too quick to adopt the regulation without fully understanding the risks of AI.

The Asian bloc has diverged from Europe in managing AI, with “a light-touch approach looking best for the region,” Fong said.

“This is mainly due to several factors, including the lack of a central legislative body in ASEAN, unlike the EU, as well as significant differences in digital capacity and regulatory capacity among ASEAN member states,” he said, adding that Southeast Asia’s approach A framework for AI ethics “serves as a practical guide” rather than a rigid policy.

Wang said ASEAN’s AI ethics divergence is not necessarily a battle between choosing a Western or a Chinese approach. According to him, international cooperation is at the heart of ASEAN’s AI ethics framework.

The main problem facing ASEAN countries is “not technological, but political,” Wang said, adding that the Covid-19 pandemic is pushing countries to work more closely in the field of mutual trade and diplomacy.

It is maintaining a young, savvy population that will keep them on track to achieve their AI plans.

Perhaps, Wang argued, a national education strategy that complements AI plans could be most effective.