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The U.S. and China may not agree on much, but they both agree that they need to regulate AI\u2014and fast. In March, the U.S. endorsed<\/a> a non-binding United Nations General Assembly resolution, sponsored by China, that called for greater oversight of AI. A few months later, Washington voted for a China-sponsored UN resolution that called for closing the gap<\/a> in AI capability between rich and poor nations.<\/p>\n But where does that leave Southeast Asia, a quickly-growing region with a tech-savvy population<\/a>?\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re a hybrid region,\u201d Gullnaz Baig, executive director of the nonprofit Angsana Council, said last week at the Fortune Brainstorm AI Singapore conference. \u201cWe love each other and yet at the same time, we\u2019re always looking over our shoulder and wondering what our neighbors are doing.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s encouraging a healthy balance between regulation and innovation in Southeast Asia. \u201cRegulation always comes fast and quick here. We always need to keep a sense of the pulse. But at the same time, we like to keep an ecosystem that\u2019s open to innovation,\u201d Baig said.\u00a0<\/p>\n China<\/a>, the U.S.<\/a> and Europe<\/a> have each developed their own approaches to regulating AI, which could be a hassle for companies trying to operate in different markets and navigate different regulatory regimes.\u00a0<\/p>\n Businesses are \u201clooking for that commonality,\u201d Evi Fuelle, director of global policy for Credo AI, said. Yet AI regulations may be more alike than they are different. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen a lot of commonality, even between things like the EU AI Act and the White House executive order on AI,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n But unlike the U.S. or China, or even the European Union, Southeast Asian companies need to grapple with\u00a0differing levels of development and different political systems across the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n Singapore, for example, is a small and wealthy free-market city-state with living standards exceeding even the most developed countries. Vietnam is a fast-growing economy dominated by state-owned enterprises. The Philippines is a raucous democracy with a services sector tightly connected to Western economies.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s actually very hard to go across borders,\u201d Baig said. She pointed to issues around business recognition, cybersecurity and cross-border flows as things stopping businesses from leveraging \u201cthe true potential that is Southeast Asia.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n And not everyone is willing to go along with a regional plan. \u201cYou do see some bigger markets in the region leaning towards protecting their own domestic market by putting up regulatory barriers,\u201d she said, without naming examples. <\/p>\n Indonesia has banned social media platforms<\/a> from offering e-commerce services, ostensibly to protect local small enterprises. On Tuesday, it reimposed tariffs<\/a> on textiles from China. <\/p>\n Still, all the speakers agreed that there\u2019s value in building a common framework for AI regulations in Southeast Asia.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe good thing is that there is a fairly consistent set of principles around responsible AI,\u201d said Zee Kin Yeong, CEO of the Singapore Academy of Law. That makes it easier for Southeast Asian governments to use other rulesets as a template for their own rules on AI.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really up to us\u2026to try and get something done, and not just wait for the disruption to happen,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n CEO Daily provides key context for the news leaders need to know from across the world of business. Every weekday morning, more than 125,000 readers trust CEO Daily for insights about\u2013and from inside\u2013the C-suite. Subscribe Now<\/a>.<\/div>\n\nRecommended Newsletter:<\/strong><\/p>\n