“There are several regulatory building blocks that need to be intact and robust before credibly embarking on AI,” Kristina Fong, lead researcher for economic affairs at ASEAN Studies Centre of ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, told CNBC. She added that “adverse effects of AI to users could come fast and hard without any institutional oversight” with conversation at state level needed to “effectively manage these rapid developments with minimal societal harm.” Diverging from Europe ASEAN countries collectively released a regional guide to AI governance and ethics in February. A year earlier, European Union officials on tour in Southeast Asia tried to persuade them to follow the EU’s AI regulations. Instead of being swayed, ASEAN countries argued the EU had been too quick to adopt regulation without fully understanding AI risks. The Asian bloc has diverged from Europe on AI governance, applying a “light-touch approach seems to be the most apt for the region,” said Fong. “This is mainly due to several factors including the absence of a central legislative body in ASEAN, unlike the EU, as well as the notable differences in digital capabilities and regulatory capacities among the ASEAN member states,” she said, adding that Southeast Asia’s approach framework on AI ethics “serves more as a practical guide,” rather than strict policy. Wang said ASEAN’s AI ethics divergence is not necessarily a battle between picking a Western or Chinese approach. International cooperation, she said, is at the heart of ASEAN’s AI ethics framework. The fundamental challenge ASEAN countries face is “not a technological one, but a political one,” said Wang, with the Covid-19 pandemic pushing countries to work together more closely on mutual trade and diplomacy. What will keep them on the right track to achieving AI plans is retaining their young, savvy population. Perhaps, Wang argued, a national education strategy to complement AI plans could be most effective.