KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 — A declaration on the establishment of the ASEAN AI Safety Network (ASEAN AI Safe) is targeted for adoption by leaders at the 47th ASEAN Summit, said ASEAN Secretary-General Dr Kao Kim Hourn.
He said this represents a crucial step toward institutionalising AI safety, ethics, and governance principles as endorsed by ASEAN Digital Ministers while supporting the implementation of the ASEAN Responsible AI Roadmap.
“The establishment of ASEAN AI Safe aligns with global calls for an international network to tackle AI safety risks through collaboration among governments, academia and industry.
“ASEAN AI Safe underscores the commitment to responsible AI development and looks forward to the network’s formal establishment by early 2026,” he said during the special address at the ASEAN Artificial Intelligence (AI) Malaysia Summit 2025 yesterday.
At the event, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim launched a Malaysian home-grown AI known as ‘ILMU’, built by YTL AI Labs, in partnership with Universiti Malaya.
Kao emphasised that despite ongoing volatility and uncertainty in global trade, the world is witnessing a transformative growth of AI in reshaping every aspect of economies, societies and daily lives.
Hence, he said, the first ever ASEAN AI Summit has provided a timely opportunity to deepen regional cooperation and build strategic trust around a shared vision with innovation and inclusive development to guide the collective journey into a new era of digital transformation.
Kao said AI is expected to contribute a gross domestic product of 10 to 18 per cent, equivalent to nearly US$1 trillion by 2030.
Besides, he said this year, ASEAN is prioritising on the ASEAN Digital Economic Framework Agreement (DEFA) to build on the regional digital ecosystem, which could potentially double its projection to US$2 trillion by 2030. — Bernama
