Stanford HAI and The Asia Foundation Announce “AI Perspectives from Asia” Program

The collaboration will produce research, offer educational training, and host convenings to support policymakers and civil society in the Asia Pacific region as they harness AI’s potential and mitigate its harms.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a central topic of interest and discussion for policymakers globally. Generative and other forms of AI are impacting how governments provide public services, upending economies, changing how citizens communicate, transforming work, and much more.

To assist governments and civil society in understanding and engaging effectively with AI, the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI and The Asia Foundation have launched a new program to support stakeholders in the Asia Pacific with the insights they need to effectively navigate the societal effects of this technology. Drawing on HAI’s strengths in research and education, together with the Foundation’s program footprint across more than 20 countries in the Asia-Pacific, the new collaboration will bolster a global dialogue on AI.  

The program’s first track will focus on creating opportunities for policymakers in Asian countries to discuss and receive briefings on technical advances in AI, how AI impacts societies and inclusion, and potential policy and regulatory frameworks.

“Many countries have already begun formulating approaches to AI governance, with varying levels of technical support on the latest developments, regulatory capacity, and differing societal experiences,” says Fei-Fei Li, Denning Co-Director of HAI. “We want to provide support and up-to-the minute insights needed to shape AI development to be more human-centered. We will also learn from more global approaches to AI governance and together enrich the international AI discourse with these perspectives.”

“This technology is moving so quickly that many governments and organizations are working hard to gain access to the best and most current AI knowledge,” says Laurel Miller, president of The Asia Foundation, a nonprofit international development organization working in more than 20 countries across the Asia Pacific region. “We hope this program will play a role as convenor and facilitator of discussions on AI policy dimensions in the Asia Pacific and provide opportunities to ensure the region is positively impacted by AI.”

To learn more about this program and how to participate, contact Haifa Badi Uz Zaman at hbadi@stanford.edu