About AISA

AI Safety Asia (AISA) is a global non-profit dedicated to the international governance of safe AI by Asia, starting in Southeast Asia.

We strive to develop interoperable and inclusive AI governance systems across Asia and bridge Global North-South gaps in AI governance. We advance our mission through regional talent capacity-building, conducting actionable policy research, and facilitating intergenerational dialogue. We believe that a future of safe and governed AI in Asia will mitigate catastrophic risks, reduce adverse societal impacts, and unlock the next frontier in equitable socioeconomic development for 60% of the global population.

Why AISA?

Southeast Asia lags behind in AI preparedness, creating an "algorithmic divide" that leaves the region vulnerable to AI's adverse impacts and missing out on its benefits.
Despite significant investments from the U.S. and China in Southeast Asian AI startups, local capacity and governance remain weak.
AISA addresses this gap by developing local talent and creating region-specific AI governance frameworks.

Our Goals

Enhance AI Safety Governance: Build local expertise and foster collaboration to produce practical AI safety policies.

Upskill Civil Servants: Equip mid-career civil servants with AI safety knowledge and tools to inform policymaking.

Incubate Junior Researchers: Develop junior policy researchers' skills through mentorship and practical policy input.

Foster Collaboration: Encourage cross-disciplinary and cross-regional collaboration to generate Asia-focused AI safety research.

AISA Assembly

AISA convenes critical stakeholders for urgent discussions on international AI governance across Southeast Asia. Our signature initiative is the AI Safety Roundtable Series, which focuses on regional opportunities, challenges, and strategies for AI safety governance.

Since 2024, we have conducted AI Safety Roundtables in Manila, Jakarta, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. Speakers have included former Ministers, high-level government officials, senior academics, and AI experts from think tanks and international organisations.

View our past events here.

Some of the organisations represented include:

AISA Governance Academy

AISA leads AI governance capacity-building in Southeast Asia through the incubation of promising policy researchers and mid-senior level civil servants across ASEAN countries, starting with the Philippines and Indonesia.

Our pilot program, AISA Scholars, is a 12-week fellowship in AI Safety and Governance for junior researchers and government staff in Southeast Asia. Participants will receive the knowledge, skills, and connections to conduct high quality AI policy research, manage key risks proactively, and make informed governance decisions.

AISA Policy Lab

AISA conducts and publishes actionable policy research on the international governance of AI to contribute insights from the Global AI Majority.

Our Southeast Asia Policy Observatory (SEA Observatory) provides a comprehensive overview of the state of AI policy and governance in the region. It offers global policymakers and policy researchers a tool to draft more informed and safer AI policies, and supports AI policy labs in understanding the regulatory landscape for more focused impact.

The SEA Observatory builds on the AISA Scholars program to form an incubation hub for policy researchers to conduct regionally-focused research, which will serve as policy advice for Southeast Asian governments.

Our Team

Lyantoniette Chua

Co-Founder

Senior Policy Advisor and Fellow at the Center for AI and Digital Policy, Washington DC, and founder of The Ambit.
Recognized leader in AI governance and listed among 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics for 2024.
Founding member of the UN University Macau AI Network and OECD.AI Experts Group on AI, Data, and Privacy.

Edward Tsoi

Co-Founder

Founder of Connecting Myanmar and experienced leader in technology startups and non-profits.
Led the APAC business of a late-stage startup with over $100M raised.
Former board member of Amnesty International Hong Kong and advisor to multiple corporate-NGO initiatives.

Melissa Leung

Communication Lead

Served as International Media Coordinator for one of Taiwan’s Presidential candidates in the 2024 presidential election in Taiwan.
Co-ordinated large-scale regional and global public affairs projects and provided media strategies for multinational companies, and multilateral organisations including COP28, the APEC Secretariat, Asian Development Bank, and the World Bank.
Integrated communications professional working across public and corporate affairs, corporate communications, brand management and media relations.

Shi Hao Lee

Insight and Technical Lead

Current MEng Computer Science student at Cornell Tech, specializing in AI policy.
Former NLP researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's NucScholar team, working on Nuclear Science research papers.
Led a student organization in ML tech consulting and creative ML projects, driving innovative solutions for real-time data insights.

Anonyo Mitra

Capacity Building Lead

Held a Master in Public Policy with a focus on AI & tech policy and governance from Harvard University
Formally led Teach For India’s strategy and operations
Researches on AI governance and safety, with a focus on making AI safety easily accessible to non-technical but vital stakeholders such as policymakers and state actors

Our Advisors

Prof. Robert Trager

Co-Director of the Oxford Martin AI Governance Initiative
International Governance Lead at GovAI
Senior Research Fellow at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford

Prof. Aaron Maniam

Fellow of Practice and Director, Digital Transformation Education, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford
Former Deputy Secretary of the Singaporean Ministry of Communications and Information
Co-Chair of OECD Expert Group on AI Futures

Ima Abdulrahim

CEO of the Caravanserai Collective
Former Executive Director of the Habibie Center
Former Public Policy Director for Southeast Asia at Meta

Esben Kran

Founder of Apart Research and Co-founder of the European Network for AI Safety.
Leads an AI safety lab with more than 80 researchers with collaborations across OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind.

Dr. Hoda A. Alkhzaimi

Co-Chair for the Global Future Council for Cyber Security at the World Economic Forum.
Founder and director of EMARATSEC, leading multiple NGOs supporting women and vulnerable groups in STEAM.

Alejandro Reyes

Scholar-in-residence at the Asia Society and former senior policy adviser at Global Affairs Canada.
Senior fellow at the Centre on Contemporary China and the World at The University of Hong Kong.

Hammam Riza

President of KORIKA and delegate to the UK AI summit on behalf of Indonesia.
Former executive positions in Indonesian government agencies and advisor to national and international AI initiatives.

Yi Zeng

Founding director of Beijing Institute of AI Safety and Governance (Beijing-AISI)
Professor from Chinese Academy of Sciences
UN High-Level Advisory Body on AI

Yonah Harif-Welker

Technologist and public expert on algorithmic policies and emerging technologies.
Board member and consultant on European Commission projects and advisor to various tech ventures and public initiatives.

Get in touch

We love hearing from people, and are keen for people to reach out to us with any questions or feedback!

Email us at contact@aisafety.asia