Our new SEACEN policy brief examines how ASEAN can govern artificial intelligence (AI) to support innovation while protecting trust, accountability, and financial stability. The brief discusses that ASEAN has built a credible soft-law foundation through the ASEAN Guide on AI Governance and Ethics and the Expanded ASEAN Guide for Generative AI.
These frameworks align broadly with global principles on transparency, fairness, safety, privacy, human oversight, and accountability. The next challenge is implementation. ASEAN member states are moving at different speeds, which makes regional interoperability, capacity building, and practical guidance essential.
For central banks, AI governance should not be treated as a narrow technology issue. It should be part of institutional risk management, data governance, model validation, supervision, payments oversight, financial stability analysis, and public communication. The brief sets out concrete priorities for ASEAN central banks, including AI use-case inventories, risk classification, human accountability, stronger data controls, supervisory expectations for regulated entities, and regional cooperation on cross-border AI risks.