Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
“The 1st OECD-Southeast Asia AI Dialogue Workshop”
On September 17, the 1st OECD-Southeast Asia AI Dialogue workshop was held as part of efforts to strengthen cooperation between the OECD and Southeast Asia. Online participants to this webinar included from the OECD, Ms. Sara Rendtorff-Smith, Head of AI and Emerging Digital Technologies Division, Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation, and others, as well as government officials and policymakers on AI from Southeast Asia including Celine Melanie Dee, Assistant Secretary, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Philippines, and Chai Wutiwiwatchai, Executive Director, National Electronics and Computer Technology Center, Thailand as well as from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Timor-Leste, Viet Nam and the ASEAN Secretariat; and from Japan, Takahiro Hanada, Deputy Director-General, Economic Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Yukio Teramura, Special Negotiator for International Strategy on Information and Communications, Global Strategy Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, among others.
- This meeting was held as the first workshop under the "OECD-Southeast Asia AI Dialogue," established by the Japanese government and the OECD to co-create a "safe, secure, and trustworthy AI ecosystem in Southeast Asia.
- At the outset, Mr. Hanada, Deputy Director-General of the Economic Affairs Bureau emphasized the importance of co-creating a safe, secure, and trustworthy AI ecosystem with reliable partners to utilize AI as a driving force for innovation, while appropriately addressing the impacts and risks brought about by the rapid evolution of the technology, such as frontier AI. He also expressed willingness to further promote cooperation through the Hiroshima AI Process and the Japan-ASEAN Co-creation Initiative for AI. From the OECD, Ms. Rendtorff-Smith, Head of AI and Emerging Digital Technologies, outlined Southeast Asia’s important role in shaping AI policy and highlighted the Dialogue series as a platform to exchange experiences and strengthen collaboration on trustworthy AI in the region.
- Participants exchanged views on the AI regulatory landscape in the region, the design of sector-specific frameworks with a focus on the financial sector, and the possibilities for regional cooperation based on the Hiroshima AI Process and OECD initiatives. Insights from the workshop will inform a regional case study to be developed by the OECD. Participants also agreed to continue discussions leading to the face-to-face meetings scheduled for November this year and February next year.