Can AI help ASEAN escape the middle income trap?

Can AI help ASEAN escape the middle income trap?

South-East Asia’s long-standing playbook of relying on cheap labour and expanding global trade to drive economic growth is broken.

Regional cooperation crucial as Southeast Asia’s AI boom accelerates

Illustration photo: Shutterstock According to the Hinrich Foundation, the AI race is a competition for resources as much as it is of algorithms and innovation. Southeast Asia is a key terrain in the AI race both for resources and innovation. From semiconductor manufacturing to data centres and research hubs, AI-driven investments are projected by some analysts to bump a 10 –18 per cent GDP increase in the region by 2030. But its intensifying dem…