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Washington, DC | The Asia Group (TAG) has launched a special report, “Everything, Everywhere, All at Once: Emerging AI Governance in the Indo-Pacific and Its Implications for Data-driven Business.”  The full report is available here.

Indo-Pacific governments are racing to develop regulatory frameworks for promoting, integrating, and governing Artificial Intelligence (AI). The resulting fragmentation of regulatory standards will present significant operational and compliance challenges for firms focused on AI and AI-adjacent businesses, including digital services.

To understand and anticipate these challenges, TAG has prepared a comprehensive risk analysis of the evolving AI policy landscape in Asia.

The report explains how evolving Indo-Pacific national approaches to AI may create obstructions – as well as some opportunities – for private sector stakeholders. The resulting analysis provides clues for how firms can mitigate risk, manage compliance burdens, and protect their digital operations.

Some of TAG’s key findings include:

• Some Asian governments prioritize national security concerns while others emphasize innovation. There is no “one size fits all” regulatory model for Asia like European Union’s AI Act.
• China has been assertive in drafting AI laws and aims to shape global AI standards through UN frameworks and other channels. U.S.-China competition will extend to global AI standard-setting.
• Other governments seeking to shape the global AI agenda include India, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea, which are likely to create standards and practices that may appeal to other jurisdictions.

“The Indo-Pacific is already the world’s largest internet market by number of users. Policymakers in the region don’t intend to merely copy laws from the United States or European Union, but will propose major innovations, making it important for data-driven businesses to have full situational awareness,” said Ambassador Kurt Tong, Managing Partner at The Asia Group.

Since the launch of TAG’s Digital Practice earlier this year, TAG has provided actionable guidance to help stakeholders navigate the world’s most challenging policy issues surrounding emerging technologies. TAG’s Digital Practice combines vital on-the-ground industry insights with an informed global perspective on internet governance.

“Companies face heightened regulatory uncertainty for AI-related services and products in Asia. TAG can help our clients to navigate through complexities across this diverse region,” said George Chen, Co-Chair of TAG’s Digital Practice and Managing Director for Hong Kong and Taiwan.

“Critical markets like India will find their own way when it comes to AI governance. Geopolitics, ideology, and economic strategy are all shaping AI governance patterns,” added Uzair Younus,  Co-Chair of TAG’s Digital Practice and Principal for South Asia.

This special report’s lead authors are TAG’s Deputy Director of Research and Analytics Nick Ackert and Digital Policy Associate Nicola Ying Fry.

The Asia Group is the premier partner to the world’s leading companies seeking to excel across the Indo-Pacific region. With a multidisciplinary team of dynamic professionals across the region, The Asia Group enables companies to unlock value and mitigate risk at the intersection of public policy and corporate strategy.