The ASEAN AI Safety Network to advance AI safety for the region

The ASEAN AI Safety Network (ASEAN AI Safe), which was announced at the 47th ASEAN Leaders Summit in Kuala Lumpur recently, was testament to the efforts made by regional government leaders to establish a collaborative framework to advance the safe adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) across the region.

The ASEAN AI Safe was expected to serve as a regional mechanism to support the region’s Digital Senior Officials’ Meeting and Working Group on AI Governance, providing pathways to enhance the region’s capacity, collaboration, and promote AI safety research and innovation across member states. 

The framework was announced after Malaysia’s Ministry of Digital, through the Malaysia Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (MYCentre4IR), led extensive feasibility studies and consultations with ASEAN member states. 

The framework has been designed to be inclusive and collaborative. It recognised the varying levels of digital maturity among ASEAN member states, ensuring that every nation could both participate in and benefit from the framework.

“By championing this initiative, Malaysia is helping the region to strengthen its collective capabilities, advance ethical governance frameworks, and foster a culture of transparency and accountability in the use of AI,” said Minister of Digital, YB Gobind Singh Deo.

“This collaboration ensures that as AI continues to evolve, it does so safely, responsibly, and inclusively, delivering innovation that protects people, empowers communities, and benefits every nation and citizen in our region,” he added.

The ASEAN AI Safe was also spotlighted at the Powering the Intelligent Age: Driving Innovation with Southeast Asia and Beyond Summit, co-organised by the Ministry of Digital through MYCentre4IR and the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The summit gathered senior policymakers, industry leaders, and experts to strengthen regional collaboration on digital transformation and energy transition. 

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Malaysia championing AI safety  

The summit focussed on practical collaborations and measurable outcomes of digital transformation, with the objective to move from policy to implementation. 

With this backdrop, the ASEAN AI Safe announcement came as a “defining step forward, serving as a platform to translate our shared principles into concrete action,” said Minister Deo. 

At the summit, the discussions centred on establishing a common framework for AI governance to deepen collaboration on AI, digitalisation, and clean industrial transformation across ASEAN. 

The ASEAN AI Safe aimed to support this vision by connecting policymakers, researchers and industry players to advance safe AI adoption.  

MyDIGITAL Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer and Head of MYCentre4IR, Adrian Marcellus previously told GovInsider that the ASEAN AI Safe was targeted at leveraging the collective strengths of member countries and obtain a “better voice on the global stage” when it came to safe AI governance. 

As ASEAN Chair this year, Malaysia situated the ASEAN AI Safe initiative as a Priority Economic Deliverable, which was also a key step in making the region a global hub for responsible innovation and digital transformation. 

Additionally, the event served to position Malaysia as a convener of regional dialogue on technology governance that supported the region’s broader energy transition efforts. 

This leadership role directly feeds into Malaysia’s vision to becoming an AI Nation by 2030, a plan built on the pillars of trusted governance, inclusive talent development, and investments that meet both national and regional standards. 

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Cross-border collaboration always at the centre 

The summit also announced the Sustainable AI White Paper to guide responsible and energy-efficient AI deployment across the region, developed between MYCentre4IR and ERM, in consultation with Microsoft. 

This showcased the Ministry of Digital’s vision of fostering sustainable and inclusive digitalisation through strong collaboration across public, private, and international sectors. 

Cross-border collaboration between governments, industries, and innovators was critical to leverage on technology responsibly while advancing shared regional goals, noted ASEAN’s Deputy Secretary-General for ASEAN Economic Community, Satvinder Singh.  

He highlighted that this network of collaboration was central to ensuring technology was a driver of shared prosperity so that the region was prepared in terms of both digital economy and institutional readiness for the intelligent age.