Young South East Asian Leaders Initiative
AI Future Makers

Online and Chonburi, Thailand  |  January 25, 2025
Guest Speaker





Young South East Asian Leaders Initiative
AI Future Makers
Online and Chonburi, Thailand
January 25, 2024
 The YSEALI AI FutureMaker’s conference was an event hosted by the Kenan Foundation Asia, YSEALI and the US Department of State. The conference consisted of a 6-day immersive workshop in Chonburi, and a series of virtual workshop sessions, 60 youth leaders, social entrepreneurs, and tech enthusiasts from ASEAN and Timor-Leste. The program focused on giving ASEAN youths a deeper understanding on leveraging AI tools and developing AI-driven projects centered around YSEALI’s core themes: economic empowerment, civic engagement, education, and environmental sustainability.

I shared two key insights as one of four AI experts on the panel. First, I highlighted the language bias in leading AI systems like ChatGPT and DeepSeek, which perform well in English and Chinese but struggle when retrieving sources written in Southeast Asian languages like Khmer and Lao. This insight was crucial for YSEALI leaders planning AI implementation in their local industries and home communities. Second, when asked by delegates about the depth of technical AI knowledge one should have, delegates connected with answer using an analogy to the internet. An expert in Vietnamese soil and agriculture does not need to master TCP/UDP protocols to effectively use the internet. They should focus on applications of AI to share and enhance their domain expertise.