APEC Steps Up Efforts To Ensure Ai-Based Economic Transformation Safe, Inclusive And Sustainable

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 (Bernama) -- The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is stepping up efforts to ensure that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in transforming and reshaping economies and societies across the Asia-Pacific is safe, inclusive, and sustainable. 

More than 200 policymakers, technologists and standards experts convened for the APEC AI Standards Conference in Incheon, South Korea, to drive convergence in AI governance and technical alignment across the region.

Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) director Dr Jin-seok Bae said AI presented both enormous opportunities and complex challenges that no single economy can resolve alone.

“AI is rapidly transforming our industries and daily lives, but without common standards, we risk fragmentation and mistrust.

“This conference is a chance for APEC economies to align efforts, exchange knowledge and support international cooperation to shape safe, inclusive and forward-looking AI governance,” he said in a statement today.

The two-day conference offered hands-on training, shared best practices and brought in perspectives from global standards bodies, reinforcing that international cooperation is key to responsible AI development.

During the opening session of the conference, International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) deputy secretary-general Silvio Dulinski said the role of international standards in building trust, fairness and security in AI.

He emphasised that standards offer scalable, consensus-driven tools for aligning regulation and ensuring diversity and inclusion in AI governance.

Participants discussed the use of AI across sectors and examined emerging frameworks to guide testing, conformity assessment and implementation. They also examined real-world applications of AI standards in areas such as ethics, human-AI interaction, risk management and environmental impact.

Meanwhile, APEC Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance (SCSC) chair Dr Kang Byung-Goo said standardisation is not just a technical process, it is a foundation for sustainable innovation and inclusive growth.

“We hope that the workshop provides an opportunity for collaboration among APEC economies on AI standards. By working together, APEC economies can ensure AI systems are not only effective, but also aligned with our shared values,” he added.

-- BERNAMA