Zenobia Chan is an Assistant Professor and the Political Economy Field Chair in the Department of Government at Georgetown University. She is also a Wang Gungwu Visiting Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.
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Zenobia Chan
Articles by Zenobia Chan (4)
Southeast Asia Needs AI Exit Options, Not AI Independence
Zenobia Chan
The region cannot eliminate its dependence on foreign chips, clouds and models. It can, however, ensure that essential AI systems remain affordable, locally effective and replaceable when suppliers or access conditions change.
Southeast Asia’s Mixed AI Stacks: Pragmatic but Not Risk-Free
Zenobia Chan
Regional initiatives such as Singapore’s SEA-LION and Indonesia’s Sahabat-AI show that Southeast Asia can combine technologies from American, Chinese, and regional sources. But mixed AI stacks do not automatically reduce dependence.
For Southeast Asia, the AI Race Is About Access, Not Supremacy
Zenobia Chan
The region’s stake in AI is not simply which great power builds the most capable model. The key is to ensure that AI remains affordable, locally relevant, continuously available and politically accessible.
China and the US: Who Will Better Understand Southeast Asia?
Zenobia Chan
The US appears to be losing to China in the race to understand Southeast Asia. The real test, however, centres on whether a country can sustain the institutions to study the region critically.