Page 88 - The Ethics of ASEAN

The Ethics of ASEAN

Dr Nguyen Truong Thang: ASEAN institutions
tackle the ethical use of technology
According to Dr Nguyen, digital technology innovations can –
and will – shape the future of ASEAN, so we should start with an
overview of the ASEAN vision, policy and strategic work plan on
Science, Technology and Innovation (STI). A Digital Masterplan 1
for 2025 was formulated for ASEAN Economic Community that
includes the following goals:
1. Stimulating economic growth
2. Enhancing community well-being
3. Advocating for regional integration
Figure 1: Dr Nguyen Truong
Thang, Director of Institute Design of policy is mostly done by the Committee of Science
of Information Technology and Technology and Innovation (COSTI) and focuses on
Vietnam Academy of areas like public-private collaboration, people-to-people
Science and Technology
(VAST) and Chair of connectivity and inclusiveness and enculturation. Several
ASEAN Sub-Committee ASEAN departments and organisations work together in order
of Microelectronics and
Information Technology to coordinate, support and integrate STI across the region: the
(ASEAN SCMIT) ASEAN Secretariat, the ASEAN Political-Security Community
(APSC), the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), the ASEAN
Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) and the ASEAN Community
and Corporate Affairs (ACCA). New policies or strategies are
approved by Ministries for Science and Technology in the
ASEAN Member States.
The ASEAN ethics of a human-centred community are
imbedded in a number of ASEAN policies and work plans.
However, Dr Nguyen reminds us that the speed of technological
advancement constantly requires ethical discussions on
emerging technologies and applications that are not covered
by rules-based ethics. Many kinds of technological disruptions
such as big data, cloud computing, Internet of Things and
robotics create new ethical challenges. For example, obtaining
customer data by businesses and governments can lead to
violations of data privacy. Another is the ethics of a widespread
transition to AI in ASEAN economies which strongly impacts
work and employment.
These ethical challenges require that governments,
researchers and companies collaborate to create or update
ethical codes of conduct in ASEAN. It is the work of ASEAN
committees to raise awareness of ethical issues and
collaborate on responsibility, accountability and security
related to the use of digital technology and AI.

1 ASEAN Digital Masterplan 2025 retreived 9 July 2023 https://asean.org/wp-
content/uploads/2021/09/ASEAN-Digital-Masterplan-EDITED.pdf

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