AI, power and global governance: Who will shape the rules of the 21st century?

Thailand has just hosted AI Governance Week, where Thai officials pitched the country as a future regional hub for AI rules. ASEAN is pushing its own guidelines, while the Philippines wants a binding framework by year-end, and Washington and Beijing are each trying to set the global standard. Everyone wants to write the rules. Almost no one agrees on what they should say.

That contest matters because AI is no longer just a technology question. It is becoming a source of economic, political and military power, and the rules that get written now – or don't – will shape who controls it, who profits from it, and who is left dependent on decisions made elsewhere.

Who will end up writing those rules: the United States, China, technology companies, or multilateral institutions? And what role can a region like Southeast Asia play in shaping outcomes rather than just living with them?

Speakers:

Pavitra Ramanujam, a lawyer who leads the Social and Environmental Justice Programme at the Association for Progressive Communications. Her work focuses on advocating for a rights-based approach to internet and digital governance, including AI, and on mitigating differentiated impacts of digital technologies on vulnerable communities.

Michael Bąk has held positions with USAID, UN and Meta and is currently Head of Policy for AI Safety Asia. His work focuses on policy and human rights. He’s also the author of www.margin-notes-squared.com, writing about decolonising tech and forces shaping our digital future.

Third guest: TBC

Moderator: Anneliese McAuliffe is an FCCT board member and journalist with more than 15 years’ international reporting experience. She works across technology, digital governance, AI and information integrity, advising international organisation on the political and geopolitical forces shaping the digital environment.

Members who wish to book in advance should email info@fccthai.com or call the FCCT office on 02-652-0580.

Non-members can use this link.