Can ASEAN unify its AI governance?

Southeast Asia is the world’s fastest-growing region, with ambitions to be the fourth largest economy bloc by 2030. 

The region has shown significant growth in digital economy and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven transformation is expected to add up to US$1 trillion to the economy by 2030. 

With AI expected to increase regional gross domestic product (GDP) between 10 to 18 per cent in the next four years, the region must tackle the impact of fragmented AI governance.  

“Different approaches to AI allow companies and even state actors to exploit the weakest regulatory environments and creates lowest-common-denominator standards,” warns ASEAN Secretariat’s Senior Officer, Digital Economy, AI Governance, Hazremi Hamid.

Hamid leads the implementation of the ASEAN Digital Masterplan 2030 and specialises in AI governance and safety for the region.  

Speaking with GovInsider, he urges ASEAN member countries to understand the value of AI governance in influencing the region’s digital economy capabilities, which expects to double its value to US$2 trillion by 2030. 

Fragmentation the biggest risk  

The most consequential risk that Hamid flags is regulatory fragmentation. 

Only eight ASEAN member states have data protection laws, and those without run the risk of affecting the entire region, where failure in one jurisdiction can ripple across the region’s interconnected digital economy, says Hamid. 

Lack of data protection laws and privacy frameworks to govern AI systems may undermine citizen trust and exacerbate the digital divide, explains Hamid. 

For this reason, harmonisation and interoperability are critical to safeguard ASEAN digital integration efforts. 

This fragmentation is also caused by the different AI capacity levels among member states. 

Hamid explains that since some countries like Singapore and Malaysia are advancing rapidly in AI, the other countries lag behind in technical expertise and regulatory design, which could widen AI inequality and create dependency.  

The governance architecture 

“ASEAN collective voice is stronger when it acts as a united entity,” says Hamid. 

This is where the Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) can help, he notes.  

The framework is a legally binding document expected to be signed at the 49th ASEAN Summit in November 2026, which embeds AI governance provisions and cross-border data flow rules. 

The framework provides guidelines on cross-border data flows, digital payments, cybersecurity and AI, with the aim to enhance ASEAN’s digital potential and align with international standards. 

“The DEFA serves as the rule-setting architecture that will provide a coordinated approach to AI governance by harmonising standards across the region, enabling interoperability and secure digital trade integration,” says Hamid. 

“Data Governance and Cooperation on emerging topics such as AI has been included in DEFA, where we’re embedding the seven key principles of the ASEAN AI Guide in the provisions, positioning the region with a pro-innovation approach for responsible AI adoption,” he adds. 

The DEFA isn’t the only document that seeks to strengthen the regional governance architecture.  

Hamid notes that the ASEAN Responsible AI Roadmap 2025-2030 adopts a phased approach that allows member states to adopt at their own pace, with common baselines while acknowledging the different stages of AI development regionally. 

“The Roadmap is a strategic measure to narrowing the AI readiness gap among member states, and offering opportunities for private sector to provide capacity building, skills development, piloting regulatory sandboxes, enhancing cloud infrastructure for AI research and testing, and work with ASEAN to co-develop AI governance standards,” he shares. 

Additionally, the ASEAN AI Safety Network, to be formally established this year, is expected to be the institutional anchor bridging government, industry, academia, and civil society to support the Roadmap’s implementation and advance the region’s commitments on responsible and inclusive AI, says Hamid. 

GovInsider previously spoke with ASEAN Secretariat Economic Community’s Deputy SecGen, Satvinder Singh, on the importance of frameworks to guide inclusive growth.

Hard and soft laws  

The main objective of unifying AI governance regionally is to strengthen trust, inclusion and integration, Hamid emphasises. 

“Beyond principles and innovation, the real challenge lies in interoperability, implementation capacity, and managing everyday governance risks. 

“These are critical because trust is not just a social issue, it is a key enabler of ASEAN’s digital economy.” 

To achieve this, ASEAN member states must understand that harmonisation isn’t taking a one-size-fits-all approach to AI governance, he says.

An overly soft approach may exacerbate AI risks, while overly stringent regulations may stifle investments and innovation.  

He suggests that each member state must calibrate its own approach against its domestic context to ensure that regulatory measures do not “inadvertently discourage investment or place them at a competitive disadvantage relative to other jurisdictions”. 

The ASEAN architecture is in place; what's needed now is political will and implementation capacity at the national level, says Hamid. 

Balancing different interests 

With different member states’ interests at stake, combined with the private sector and civil society voices, the Secretariat has the responsibility to ensure diverse inputs can be translated into actionable and acceptable policy options.  

“The Secretariat’s primary role is to facilitate consensus among governments. At the same time, we recognise the importance of ensuring that private sector and civil society perspectives are reflected,” says Hamid. 

He explains that this is done through structured consultations, targeted dialogues, and engagement with stakeholders.  

While not all views may be reflected directly given the need for consensus, they aim to ensure that key concerns are embedded in the final outcomes. 

“This is ultimately about maintaining both inclusivity and regional cohesion,” concludes Hamid.