Leaving no one behind: A collaborative blueprint for Asean’s AI future

IN THE race to harness artificial intelligence (AI), Asean stands at a crossroads: Act collectively now, or risk leaving billions in potential economic value – and millions of citizens – behind.

With South-east Asia’s digital economy projected to reach US$1 trillion by 2030, AI offers far more than technological progress. It is a catalyst for digital transformation, deeper regional integration and community uplift across one of the world’s most culturally diverse and economically dynamic regions.

To harness this potential, Asean must forge deep public-private partnerships that unite government vision with industry innovation, creating an integrated AI ecosystem where member states at every level advance together.

Asean’s greatest strength lies in the power of collective action and investment, with several member states charting ambitious AI paths.

A great example of this came at Singapore’s recent Budget 2026 announcement where Prime Minister Lawrence Wong shared his vision of the country becoming “a trusted hub where companies and researchers come together to develop, test and deploy impactful AI solutions”.

The question now is not whether AI will reshape the region, but whether Asean can shape it to reflect shared values, protect sovereignty and leave no nation behind. That demands a unified strategy for governance, infrastructure and talent – the pillars of a resilient AI future.

Forging a unified AI strategy: the Asean way

To unlock the full potential of AI across South-east Asia, Asean must move towards a harmonised governance framework. While the Digital Masterplan 2025, and the 2024 Guide on AI Governance and Ethics served as key milestones, uneven national strategies risk deepening disparities in AI readiness and regional development.

With only six member states having established a national AI strategy, and leading states such as Singapore now launching a new National AI Council to drive national AI priorities, Asean confronts a widening AI readiness gap that threatens to fracture regional economic development.

This gap is reflected in a 2025 Salesforce study, in which Singapore ranks second globally in government AI readiness, while Laos and Myanmar are placed much lower at 137th and 143rd, respectively. These disparities reflect not only governance gaps, but also underlying differences in the digital divide and rural connectivity. Addressing these is foundational to ensuring that AI benefits reach every member state.

Rigid, one-size-fits-all regulation will do little to capture Asean’s diversity or ambition. This is especially true for its economy, where more than 90 per cent of businesses are small and medium-sized enterprises and intra-Asean trade accounts for about a quarter of the region’s total trade.

To support this reality, the bloc should pursue an “Asean way”: consensus-based decision-making and non-interference, paired with a collaborative, coordinated framework for AI standards and cross‑border data governance. While this approach can be deliberative, it ensures that the policies developed are inclusive, and respectful of each nation’s unique political and economic priorities.

Existing platforms such as the Asean Digital Economy Framework Agreement and the Asean Working Group on AI Governance provide a robust policy backbone. This momentum is already building tangible platforms for cooperation.

The Asean AI Safety Network will establish its regional headquarters in Malaysia in early 2026, creating a hub for member states to align on developing a safe and inclusive AI ecosystem.

The next step is deep public-private collaboration. This approach represents Asean’s strongest equaliser – a strategy that works whether a nation ranks second or 143rd in AI readiness.

Leveraging the expertise of private enterprises will help ensure that regulations remain agile, outcome-driven and focused on managing the highest-risk AI systems. By engaging industry experts, academia and civil society from the outset, Asean can ensure that governance frameworks are agile, outcome-driven and culturally attuned.

Scaling AI infrastructure beyond borders

Effective policy sets the vision, but tangible infrastructure provides the foundation for action. AI requires vast computing power, high-capacity data centres and reliable energy – resources that are unevenly distributed across Asean.

Member states are already making bold investments, with Singapore pledging S$500 million for advanced computing hardware, and Malaysia introducing significant tax incentives for data centre investments in its 2024 Budget.

Yet geographical constraints and rising energy costs threaten to slow progress if countries act alone.

Cross-border collaboration offers a faster, more cost-effective path. The Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) demonstrates what’s possible. This partnership combines Malaysia’s land and labour resources with Singapore’s investment capabilities to develop a shared hub for high-value sectors, including data centres and high-tech manufacturing that underpin AI advancement.

Through coordinated policy frameworks offering special tax concessions, targeted incentives and dedicated infrastructure funds, the JS-SEZ initiative has already attracted billions in investments for hyperscale campuses and specialised AI computing infrastructure.

This collaborative approach should inspire the broader adoption of special AI compute zones across Asean – designated regions with blended regulations, shared energy resources and joint investment vehicles that harness each member state’s comparative advantages.

Moving beyond competing for isolated projects and co-investing in infrastructure corridors enable Asean to scale world-class AI infrastructure more efficiently, strengthening resilience, lowering costs and fostering common standards.

Cultivating Asean’s AI talent pipeline

While infrastructure creates capacity, people drive innovation. Today, only about one in 10 jobs in Asean involves tasks complementary to AI, compared with roughly three in 10 in advanced economies, according to the World Bank.

Closing this gap is essential to achieving the Asean Digital Masterplan 2025’s vision of a digitally empowered society. It requires member states, in partnership with industry and academia, to cultivate a new generation of AI‑native talent and upskill today’s workforce.

Establishing a multi-agency regional task force could help harmonise efforts across borders. A centralised workforce development framework would also be needed to track workforce AI needs, identify critical skill gaps across industries and align resources for targeted training initiatives.

Education systems must evolve in parallel: integrating AI curricula into schools, incentivising industry-aligned programmes and expanding apprenticeships in manufacturing, engineering and agriculture. Upskilling today’s workforce through vocational and on-the-job AI training will ensure that economic transformation is inclusive, not disruptive.

Industry partnerships with academic institutions, such as Dell’s collaboration on Siam AI which aims to foster talent and AI infrastructure in Thailand, and Microsoft’s AIForMYFuture initiative to upskill and reskill Malaysian citizens, demonstrate how collaboration can accelerate capability-building and spread benefits more evenly across the region.

Collective action for shared prosperity

No single government can address these challenges alone. But Asean’s path forward is clear: By aligning strategies, co‑investing across borders and partnering industry and academia, Asean can create a connected AI ecosystem.

With the 2030 digital economy target on the horizon, the next five years are critical to lay the groundwork for this shared future. Whether the priority is governance, infrastructure or skills, public-private partnerships are the unifying lever that Asean can pull to make rapid, inclusive progress – independent of each country’s current AI maturity.

In a world where AI leadership is increasingly tied to sovereignty and economic security, Asean has a chance to secure its place – not by outspending global powers, but by “out-collaborating” them. By pooling resources, expertise and infrastructure, the region can build a unified AI ecosystem that reflects its diversity while amplifying its collective power.

The writer is vice-president, government affairs (Americas and Asia-Pacific Japan), at Dell Technologies