#10 Asia AI Policy for Small States, Military, IP, Privacy, Finance
To get the latest editions earlier please subscribe on Substack:
https://asiaaipolicymonitor.substack.com/p/10-asia-ai-policy-for-small-states
Intellectual Property
This National Law Review article covers the status of patent/copyright and AI issues, across several jurisdictions including Korea, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Australia, Malaysia, Philippines, India, Australia, Indonesia, and New Zealand.
Military AI
Singapore and the US held their 14th Strategic Security Policy Dialogue, with the read out noting on AI:
The two sides also discussed emerging areas of cooperation, including implementation of the Statement of Intent on Data, Analytics, and Artificial Intelligence Cooperation and progress on defense innovation.
The Second Responsible AI in the Military Domain (REAIM) summit was held in Seoul, South Korea this month. 60 countries signed the “Blueprint for Action ”, although news outlets noted China’s absence (but less so India’s absence). Elsewhere in Asia, Japan, Australia, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, South Korea, Philippines, Pakistan and Brunei, joined the agreement. The following are salient points from the blueprint:
Acknowledge the following, which are not exhaustive, to ensure responsible AI in the military domain:
Chinese defense scholars warned that AI may accelerate military escalation issues:
Experts at the PLA-affiliated National University of Defense Technology, for instance, note that “the large-scale military application of artificial intelligence [will] further increase the uncertainty and uncontrollability of crisis outbreaks and escalations,” potentially leading to the eruption of wars. Scholars affiliated with the PLA Air Force concur, arguing that AI systems will “aggravate the uncontrollable degree” of crises.
Finance
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority published a circular regarding the use of AI in monitoring fraudulent activity. The circular advises the following:
(a) Sharing experience and success stories of AIs – in November 2024 the HKMA will organise an experience sharing forum with speakers from the industry and technology firms on how artificial intelligence is being deployed to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of suspicious activity monitoring;
The Reserve Bank of Australia in its September Financial Stability Review is working with the finance industry to monitor use of AI. The RBA highlighted four types of risks:
Operational risk from concentration of service providers;
...read the full edition on Substack and subscribe:
Multilateral
Singapore and Rwanda issued the AI Playbook for Small States. The guide had input from small states around the globe, including from Asia: Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Fiji, Laos, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste. The Playbook notes the challenges for small states in AI, and provides recommendations:
[Challenges are] …(a) Access to resources and funding; b) Limitations of small domestic markets and hence, inability to tap on economies of scale or have a significant voice in international AI development; c) Access to data, either within the country or from outside sources; and d) Need for expertise and AI talent.
Asian countries at the UN General Assembly made remarks on various aspects of AI policy, according to Digital Watch:
Tajikistan?shared it was implementing a national strategy for digitalisation and proposed a UN resolution to highlight AI's role in creating socioeconomic opportunities.? The Maldives?emphasised that a robust ICT infrastructure and education are vital for a digital future. By expanding AI access in essential services such as healthcare and education, they aim to empower the next generation with the necessary skills for a competitive global economy.? Mongolia?and?Uzbekistan?emphasised challenges from the uncontrolled use of AI and supported UN resolutions promoting safe AI use for sustainable development and stronger international cooperation.
G20 engagement groups (including from Asia: China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and Australia) from labor, civil society, think tanks and women’s groups (L20, C20, T20 and W20 respectively) issued the Sao Luis Declaration on AI. The Declaration focuses attention on environmental, and social impacts of AI, calling for support to bridge the AI divide among poorer countries, and alleviate discrimination, such as gender based violence which can arise from AI tools, among other concerns.
Vietnam and the US conduct talks on AI cooperation while Vietnamese leaders join the UN General Assembly in New York.
Leaders from Japan and the US issued the Wilmington Declaration Joint Statement, including provisions on AI and semiconductor supply chain resilience:
Through the Advancing Innovations for Empowering NextGen Agriculture (AI-ENGAGE) initiative announced at last year’s Summit, our governments are deepening leading-edge collaborative research to harness arti?cial intelligence, robotics, and sensing to transform agricultural approaches and empower farmers across the Indo-Pacific. We are pleased to announce an inaugural $7.5+ million in funding opportunities for joint research, and welcome the recent signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between our science agencies to connect our research communities and advance shared research principles.
The Quad of the US, India, Japan and Australia will invest in the use of AI in biologics research:
The United States, Australia, India, and Japan look forward to launching the Quad BioExplore Initiative—a funded mechanism that will support joint AI-driven exploration of diverse non-human biological data across all four countries.
Human Rights, Employment, Environment
AI is making China’s fast fashion leaders dirtier, according to this Grist article:
But climate advocates and researchers say [Chinese fast fashion giant Shein’s] lightning-fast manufacturing practices and online-only business model are inherently emissions-heavy — and that the use of AI software to catalyze these operations could be cranking up its emissions. Those concerns were amplified by Shein’s third annual sustainability report , released late last month, which showed the company nearly doubled its carbon dioxide emissions between 2022 and 2023.
Bloomberg reports on the Philippine’s business outsourcing industry’s AI woes.
Nikkei reports on Asia’s data energy consumption, much of it driven by AI:
Economies across Asia are attempting to seize once-in-a-generation opportunities as supply chains shift away from China. But do they have enough clean energy to sustain economic growth and combat global warming while attracting investment in chips, artificial intelligence, data centers and other technologies?
领英推荐
Governance
Singapore’s Supreme Court issued a circular on the use of genAI in by court users. Generally the Court advises the following:
The Court does not prohibit the use of Generative AI tools to prepare Court Documents, provided that this Guide is complied with.
Trust, Safety & Community
Australia’s Digital Platform Regulators Forum published a working paper on the impact of multimodal foundation models on digital platform regulation:
MFMs perform as supercharged AI creators. Give them a text prompt, and they can create an image to match. Feed them audio, and they might generate a corresponding video. Provide a picture, ask them to describe it, and they can provide a text description. ?These capabilities could open many opportunities for consumer and business adoption across various industries – from generating personalised content experiences to new ways of creating music and images.?
The US will host the first meeting of the international network of AI Safety Institutes in November, which include Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Japan, Kenya, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States.?
Korea launches an AI-powered criminal justice system portal:
The system, developed over 33 months, is the result of a collaborative effort by South Korea’s key criminal justice agencies: the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, the National Police Agency, and the Korea Coast Guard.
Advocacy
Sri Lanka’s National AI Strategy is open for consultation until 6 Jan 2025. From the strategy:
Guided by seven core principles (inclusivity and responsibility, trustworthiness and transparency, human-centricity, adoption-focus and impact-orientation, agile and adaptive governance, collaboration and global engagement and sustainability and future-readiness), our strategy focuses on:
China’s Cyber Administration published draft rules for labeling of GenAI content for comment until 16 Oct.
China’s national standards platform is also publishing rules for comment until 13 November regarding standards for internet safety and generative AI content.
In the News
Southeast Asia’s GenAI start-up scene is analyized in this report . Singapore is first, followed by Vietnam in GenAI start-ups.
The Center for Security and Emerging Technology published an english translation of Guangdong and Beijing AI strategies and plans.
Hong Kong will unveil comprehensive rules for the use of AI in the financial industry in October.
This insightful article from the Boston Review dives into Taiwan’s history and how its colonial past shapes the island’s leading semiconductor industry fueling AI globally:
The dead weight of centuries of colonization has shaped and continues to haunt Taiwan’s semiconductor project. Even as the country’s ultra-successful chip industry has secured its place atop global supply chains, neoimperial entanglements remain unsettled. Today we are witnessing the consequences…
ChinaTalk blog has a great set of interviews regarding the formation of AI Sovereignty, tracing back to Chinese government initiatives on data/internet sovereignty, and citing Japanese and Singaporean approaches to AI localization.
Harvard Business Review released an article on the Top 50 AI hubs, India leads in Asia followed by China.
Events
Digital Governance Asia staff will moderate a session at the UNDP’s Responsible Business and Human Rights Forum in Bangkok, Thailand, Sept 25. Register here .
The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in December. Digital Governance Asia is supporting a session covering Asia’s Privacy and AI regulations. Register here .
RightsCon will come to Taipei, Taiwan in February 2025, covering all aspects of digital human rights issues.
With over 1,400 subscribers across multiple platforms, the Asia AI Policy Monitor is the monthly newsletter for Digital Governance Asia, a non-profit organization with staff in Taipei and Seattle. If you are interested in contributing news, insight or analysis, or participating in advocacy to promote Asia’s innovation in AI and digital regulation, please reach out to our secretariat staff at APAC GATES, Seth Hays at [email protected].