Thursday 12 June 2025 1:00pm to 2:00pm
Mond Buiiding Seminar Room
About
Is there ethics in AI in Asia? A Multi-Level Comparative policy analysis from Southeast Asia to Mongolia
Undral Ganbaatar (MIASU Visiting Scholar)
Three years into the current ‘AI boom’ – set off by the commercial release of ChatGPT, a large language model developed by the American technology company OpenAI – the paradigm-shifting nature of artificial intelligence (AI) has been widely acknowledged. Comparisons are frequently drawn to transformative historical milestones such as the widespread advent of electricity and the Industrial Revolution. In this context, experts have called, if not for a moratorium on the further development of AI (although some have indeed advocated for this), then for the establishment of a universally acknowledged common set of ethics-based principles to which nation states must adhere.
From this vantage point of being three years into this 'AI boom'—a point in time which, while unlikely to represent its zenith, nonetheless is a period of significant momentum coupled with both heady optimism and existential dread—this presentation examines the ethical dimensions of AI governance in Asia. Through a multi-level comparative lens, spanning Southeast Asia to Mongolia, it addresses three core areas:
Firstly, it explores the role of institutions, particularly multilateral organizations, in building consensus around global normative frameworks on AI. It analyses the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI (2021), developed with global applicability in mind, and its influence on similar regional and issue-based coalitions such the Organization for Economic Cooperation (OECD) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The analysis further draws parallels to earlier international frameworks, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, highlighting both lessons learned as well as structural limitations.
Secondly, it investigates national-level actors and their priorities in developing and enforcing AI policies. This includes an assessment of the roles played by state and non-state actors and the political, economic, and social interests shaping national approaches to AI ethics in the targeted countries.
Third, the presentation also examines the gap between institutional trends in AI policy (whether governmental or a corporate entity) versus the public’s perceptions and needs vis as vis their roles as citizens and consumers of AI technologies. This section draws on empirical data from national AI readiness assessments conducted across several Southeast Asian countries to highlight citizen-level engagement with AI as both users and rights-holders.
Is there ethics in AI in Asia? A Multi-Level Comparative policy analysis from Southeast Asia to Mongolia
Three years into the current ‘AI boom’ – set off by the commercial release of ChatGPT, a large language model developed by the American technology company OpenAI – the paradigm-shifting nature of artificial intelligence (AI) has been widely acknowledged. Comparisons are frequently drawn to transformative historical milestones such as the widespread advent of electricity and the Industrial Revolution. In this context, experts have called, if not for a moratorium on the further development of AI (although some have indeed advocated for this), then for the establishment of a universally acknowledged common set of ethics-based principles to which nation states must adhere.
From this vantage point of being three years into this 'AI boom'—a point in time which, while unlikely to represent its zenith, nonetheless is a period of significant momentum coupled with both heady optimism and existential dread—this presentation examines the ethical dimensions of AI governance in Asia. Through a multi-level comparative lens, spanning Southeast Asia to Mongolia, it addresses three core areas:
Firstly, it explores the role of institutions, particularly multilateral organizations, in building consensus around global normative frameworks on AI. It analyses the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI (2021), developed with global applicability in mind, and its influence on similar regional and issue-based coalitions such the Organization for Economic Cooperation (OECD) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The analysis further draws parallels to earlier international frameworks, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, highlighting both lessons learned as well as structural limitations.
Secondly, it investigates national-level actors and their priorities in developing and enforcing AI policies. This includes an assessment of the roles played by state and non-state actors and the political, economic, and social interests shaping national approaches to AI ethics in the targeted countries.
Third, the presentation also examines the gap between institutional trends in AI policy (whether governmental or a corporate entity) versus the public’s perceptions and needs vis as vis their roles as citizens and consumers of AI technologies. This section draws on empirical data from national AI readiness assessments conducted across several Southeast Asian countries to highlight citizen-level engagement with AI as both users and rights-holders.