With extensive experience in the Asia-Pacific region, Kelly has conducted research on AI governance, facilitated public-private dialogues, and advised on government policy issues. She has been instrumental in delivering and disseminating research findings, while also actively engaging the private sector in the implementation of AI guidelines and frameworks.
Kelly is the President and Executive Director of the AI Asia Pacific Institute (AIAPI), where she leads efforts to strengthen Asia-Pacific economies by advancing the responsible development and adoption of artificial intelligence.
In addition to her role at AIAPI, she serves on the Editorial Board of the AI and Ethics Journal at Springer Nature and advises Qlik on accelerating the responsible development of its AI-driven product portfolio.
Additionally, she sits on the advisory committee for the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), focusing on the processing of personal data in autonomous and semi-autonomous systems.
Kelly was formerly president of the International Law Association (ILA). Over the past 15 years, she has worked extensively across the Asia-Pacific region and is currently based in the United Arab Emirates. Born in Brazil, she has lived and worked in more than five countries, gaining a deep appreciation for diverse cultures, values, and languages.
Kelly holds dual qualifications as a lawyer in both Common and Civil Law and holds certificates from institutions such as the Australian National University and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Peter is a private sector development specialist who has worked over the past 35 years on industrial and technological development, foreign investment, public-private dialogue, and government policy issues in Central, South-East and North Asia. He has led programs on private sector development, public-private partnerships, contributions of business to social development, and business environment reforms in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) and beyond.
AI will undoubtedly be the most significant transformative technology of the 21st century. Its impact will extend across all sectors, geographies, and aspects of life, reshaping economies, labor markets, and daily lives.
In the economic development sphere, AI enhances solutions in healthcare, education, and sustainable agriculture. It improves resource management for clean energy and water, facilitates climate action through predictive models, and promotes innovation. However, it also disrupts labor markets and creates significant risks, calling for investment in reskilling and education to address job displacement and enhanced regulatory frameworks that ensure equitable and safe growth across sectors and regions.
In the next decade, AI will likely evolve into more autonomous, intelligent, and integrated systems across industries, hopefully playing an ever-increasing role in addressing the challenges of developing economies. In particular, AI-driven innovations in education, healthcare, autonomous vehicles, and climate solutions will become widespread and increasingly meet the needs of the diverse communities and cultures that constitute Asia and the Pacific. However, challenges around ethics, bias, on-line harms, and data privacy will intensify across the world and the region, prompting economies to develop adequate governance.
The AI Asia Pacific Institute can play an important role in shaping AI’s future by fostering responsible development and deployment of AI across the region and beyond through research, policy advocacy, awareness building, and collaboration.
Bio
Peter is a private sector development specialist who has worked over the past 35 years on industrial and technological development, foreign investment, public-private dialogue, and government policy issues in Central, South-East and North Asia. He has led programs on private sector development, public-private partnerships, contributions of business to social development, and business environment reforms in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) and beyond. On a practical level, Peter managed a venture capital fund in Thailand, founded a securities firm in Thailand, established a private equity fund in Cambodia, ran several policy consulting operations (including the Brooker Group which he listed in 2001 on the Market for Alternative Investment in Thailand), and set up a Mekong-wide handicraft operation. Peter’s PhD thesis dealt with productivity growth in Thai companies and his work has since blended his technical knowledge with practical real-life applications. He successfully completed the Directorship Certification Program at the Myanmar Institute of Directors.
Following leadership assignments with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Cambodia and Myanmar from 2010-2016, during which time he developed comprehensive engagement strategies and undertook detailed economic and inclusive growth analyses for both countries, Peter joined the UKAid 25 million pound DaNa Facility as Team Leader in December 2016. Peter led DaNa to be the leader in Myanmar on promoting corporate governance, responsible business, impact investing, and inclusive business, on strengthening financial inclusion and the ecosystem for fintechs, on stimulating public-private dialogue mechanisms to catalyze economic policy reform, and on supporting policy reforms to enhance business environments around the country. Following the onset of COVID-19, Peter handled the DaNa Facility’s extensive and responsive COVID-19 response activities. In May 2021, following the Myanmar military coup in February 2021 and extensive COVID-19-related UKAid budget cuts, the DaNa Facility closed down and Peter returned to the UK, from where he undertakes selected consulting assignments in the private sector development arena.
Advisor to the Veritas Consortium led by Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The consortium has an overarching mandate to implement the FEAT principles (Fairness, Ethics, Accountability, Transparency) as critical considerations for the deployment of Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics (AIDA) technologies within financial institutions.
Luis led Element AI’s Asia-Pacific operations as well as manufacturing and industrial vertical. Element AI is a Canadian start-up co-founded in 2016 by Joshua Bengio, winner of the Turing award and one of the god fathers of Deep Learning.
He has 20 years’ experience in Digital Transformation of industrial enterprises and has been involved with over 40 Customers in Heavy Industries (Power, Oil & Gas, Chemical, Mining and Manufacturing) advising on developing and executing their software solutions roadmap within Asia Pacific, North/ South America, Europe and the Middle East.
Luis was the Chief AI Officer of Aaqua, a Social Media Startup, where he leads the Aaqua Learning Technologies Excellence Centre, responsible for building the entire AI capability for the platform with operations in Asia, North America, and Europe.
Advisor to the Veritas Consortium led by Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The consortium has an overarching mandate to implement the FEAT principles (Fairness, Ethics, Accountability, Transparency) as critical considerations for the deployment of Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics (AIDA) technologies within financial institutions.
Luis is the guest lecturer at INSEAD MBA, EMBA MBA, Nanyang Business School and Nanyang Technological University.
Luis has a graduate diploma from MIT with a double major undergrad from University of Victoria in Commerce and Computer Science as well as a specialization in Pacific Asian studies from Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Wendy Bonython is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law at Bond University in Queensland, Australia. Her research interests include technology law and regulation, privacy, and human rights law, with a particular emphasis on health related technologies. In addition to her legal skills, qualifications and experience, she also has a PhD in Molecular medicine, and previously worked in health administration and policy within the public sector.
AI is the next major transformative technology. Just as our ancestors couldn’t have envisaged how reliant on electricity we would become for every aspect of our daily lives when electricity first became mainstream, I don’t think we have fully grasped just how AI is going to integrate itself into our world – our what applications will prove to be ill-suited to AI. We’re at such an early stage of getting grips with AI and its applications that no one has really got a sound grip on how we should regulate it- although it’s fair to say that regulation of some form, of at least some aspects, is inevitable. AI is likely to impact every industry you can think of in one way or another: this will inevitably lead to a process of trial and refinement, with some applications and uses proving more or less beneficial than others. It is only as we go through this process of trial and error and experimentation that we will really get a clear picture of what AI might look like once living in an AI-based world is established as our new normal.
I see there being two big risks in AI at the present time. Firstly, I think there is a real risk that it could become the subject of geopolitical currents – a new and emerging technology war, fought using tariffs, competition policies, and trade and intellectual property law. Secondly- and relatedly- uneven diffusion of AI technologies will inevitably lead to widening of the digital divide, further entrenching social and economic disadvantage in groups that are already vulnerable. These groups, who potentially stand to benefit most from AI driven developments in healthcare, education, climate change mitigation, and a host of other applications risk missing out on those benefits because global leaders in AI simply failed to bring them along in the process of skilling the world in the use and application of AI. Rtaher than just occurring at a macro level, ie between global north and global south nations, for example, the AI digital divide will also widen at the micro level- potentially leaving behind demographic groups within communities who already struggle with technology literacy, including migrant and refugee groups, older people, and people experiencing economic disadvantage.
Wendy Bonython is an Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Learning and Teaching in the Faculty of Law at Bond University. Her research expertise examines the intersection of law, ethics, and medicine, with a particular focus on regulation and governance of high throughput information technologies in healthcare. In addition to her legal qualifications, she has a PhD in Molecular medicine, and has previously worked in health science and technology in the public sector.
William Cole serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the AI Asia Pacific Institute (AIAPI), where he provides strategic guidance at the intersection of technology, political economy, and public policy. He also serves as a member of the Advisory Board for the Commonwealth Club World Affairs. His professional career spans senior roles in government, nonprofit, and academic institutions, focused on governance reform, economic development, international relations, conflict, and the impacts of emerging technologies in complex political environments.
Dr. Cole’s recent work has concentrated in two areas: first, the implications of disruptive technologies for economic transformation, governance capacity, and regional security; and second, the growing political, economic, and security challenges facing Advanced Middle-Income Countries as they adjust to increased geopolitical competition and rapidly advancing technology. In 2023, he was a Visiting Fellow at Australian National University (ANU), Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, where he conducted research on these themes.
From 1998 through early 2024, Dr. Cole served with The Asia Foundation, most recently as Senior Advisor for Program Strategy, with responsibility for country strategy and the development of innovative programs in South and Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. Earlier in his career, he spent a decade with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Indonesia and Washington, D.C., where he led governance and economic reform programs in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and the former Soviet Union.
Dr. Cole holds a B.S. degree in Natural Sciences and Mathematics from Washington and Lee University, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Anthropology from Washington University.
William Cole currently serves as a member of the Advisory Board at the Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California (CCWA), and as Advisor to the AI Asia Pacific Institute in Singapore. His career has included appointments in government, non-profit, and academic sectors where he has worked in a range of areas including politics, economic development, international relations, impact of emerging technologies, and anthropology. His approach to understanding history and current affairs, as well as policy research and policy dialogue, has been distinctly transdisciplinary. Dr Cole’s core focus in recent years has been on two main areas effecting economic growth and stability in Asia: the impact of disruptive technologies on Asian economies, political systems, and security; and the future of Advanced Middle-Income Countries in an era of rapid economic change and strategic competition. He spent the year of 2023 as Visiting Fellow at Australian National University (Coral Bell School) conducting research on these two topics.
Roger Thomas “Tom” Moyes has nearly three decades’ experience in banking, finance, and economic development. He has senior management and boardroom-level commercial banking experience, and has managed economic development projects for the U.S. and U.K. governments. Tom has served as a staff member at Asian Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation, and as a senior technical consultant to the World Bank. He has worked extensively across Southeast Asia.
Roger Thomas “Tom” Moyes has nearly three decades’ experience in banking, finance, and economic development. He has senior management and boardroom-level commercial banking experience, and has managed economic development projects for the U.S. and U.K. governments. Tom has served as a staff member at Asian Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation, and as a senior technical consultant to the World Bank. He has worked extensively across Southeast Asia.
David pioneered the regulator and central bank adoption of data science as well as establishment of the Fairness, Ethics, Accountability and Transparency (FEAT) principles, first-of-a-kind guidelines for adopting Artificial Intelligence in the financial industry, as well as establishing the MAS-backed Veritas consortium.
Dr. David R. Hardoon is the Chief Executive Officer of Aboitiz Data Innovation. Concurrently, David serves as Senior Advisor for Data and AI at Union Bank of the Philippines and Advisory Board member at Connected Women.
Prior to his current roles, David was the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)’s first appointed Chief Data Officer and Head of Data Analytics Group reporting to the agency’s Deputy Managing Director for Financial Supervision and subsequently Special Advisor for Artificial Intelligence reporting to Deputy Managing Director for Markets and Development. In these roles, he led the development of the AI strategy both for MAS and Singapore’s financial sector as well as driving efforts in promoting open cross-border data flows.
David holds a PhD in Computer Science in the field of Machine Learning from the University of Southampton and graduated from Royal Holloway, University of London with First Class Honors B.Sc. in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence.
Vincent has deep expertise in large scale transformations across multiple industries and sectors globally, having been with McKinsey & Company for a number of years before moving into the Corporate sector, where he led the Strategic Capabilities and Future of Work function for Fonterra, a $20bn organisation with more than 22,000 employees globally.
Vincent is the Co-Founder of FutureWork Studio, a tech and consulting company helping organisations navigate the rapidly changing work-scape by equipping them with the tools and thinking they need to thrive now and in the future.
Vincent has deep expertise in large scale transformations across multiple industries and sectors globally, having been with McKinsey & Company for a number of years before moving into the Corporate sector, where he led the Strategic Capabilities and Future of Work function for Fonterra, a $20bn organisation with more than 22,000 employees globally. As an officer in the French Armed Forces, Vincent also spent more than a decade leading teams in challenging situations across many parts of the globe.
Vincent has a Masters Degree in Statistics and Data Analytics, an MBA from the University of Melbourne, and speaks fluent English and Portuguese in addition to his native French. Vincent was one of two inaugural TEDx Auckland Salon ‘in the Dark’ speakers in 2019, a world first event for TEDx, and is also a member of the SingularityU global expert faculty, speaking regularly on the future of work topic.
Janet currently serves as an Investment Stewardship Specialist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. She oversees investee companies’ social issues including supply chain and human rights. In her recent roles, she engaged with listed companies on material ESG topics, including responsible use of technology, artificial intelligence and data governance. Her previous lead on the ESG theme AI Ethics and Data Governance at Federated Hermes Equity Ownership Services (EOS) was shortlisted as UNPRI Stewardship Project of the Year 2020.
Janet Wong, CFA is an Investment Stewardship Specialist for the Asia ex-Japan region. She works on engagement with corporate directors and management on investment issues involving stewardship, management incentives, and social and environmental sustainability in Asia ex Japan. She is also responsible for advising analysts and portfolio managers regarding the E, S and G profiles of the companies in which we invest and co-ordinating proxy voting activity.
She joined from IHS Markit as the APAC lead of ESG, M&A and corporate governance advisory. Prior to that, she was part of Federated Hermes Equity Ownership Services (EOS)’ London team responsible for proxy voting, public policy advocacy and ESG engagement with listed companies. Her lead on the ESG theme AI Ethics and Data Governance was shortlisted as UNPRI Stewardship Project of the Year 2020. She started her career in HSBC Global Banking Hong Kong overseeing global banking relationships of Hong Kong conglomerates. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Global Business and Management from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and a Master of Public Administration degree in Social Impact from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Alex is a technology lawyer based in Singapore. He advises clients on legal and regulatory issues, and assists with complex contract negotiations, in the Technology Media and Telecommunications (TMT) and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) space. This includes topics such as data, artificial intelligence, IT, Fintech, e-commerce, telecommunications within the broad gamut of TMT/ICT.
AI will continue to have a transformative impact on many industries and professions. Increased automation is likely to be a driver of productivity and enhance the capture of economies of scale. More recently, commercial deployments of LLMs, reasoning and agentic models are likely to require white-collar/knowledge workers and professionals to re-assess their value proposition and how they do business. The time-scale on which these changes will occur is difficult to predict, and even experts disagree. In an evolving environment, it makes sense to monitor and assess evolving trends, as traditional metrics of revenue and client engagement may be too slow to respond.
The key developments in the last 3 years have been on LLMs and growing the size and capabilities of such models. Training, inference and energy costs are likely to drive the development of more efficient models and training methods, augmented by a growing open-source movement. We should also see a greater variety of AI models trained on different inputs and for different tasks, apart from semantic language and images processed by LLMs today.
AI Asia Pacific can continue to bring policymakers, industry and civil society groups together to address AI’s transformative impact, and leverage on its network of experts to provide thought leadership and insights for all.
Alex is a technology lawyer based in Singapore. He advises clients on legal and regulatory issues, and assists with complex contract negotiations, in the Technology Media and Telecommunications (TMT) and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) space. This includes topics such as data, artificial intelligence, IT, Fintech, e-commerce, telecommunications within the broad gamut of TMT/ICT.
He is a certified AI Ethics and Governance Professional with the Singapore Computer Society (SCS), and participates in the work of the SCS in developing and promoting AI Governance. He is also a Data and Digital Economy Specialist certified by the Singapore Academy of Law, and holds a Masters in Law, Science and Technology from Stanford University. He is presently one of the Vice-Chairpersons of the Singapore Law Society’s Cybersecurity and Data Protection Committee.
Yaron has over 20 years of diverse and broad experience in financial crime investigations. He has vast experience in Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing, with extensive knowledge in world-class standards across the financial sector.
With over 25 years of experience in various types of investigations, Yaron Hazan fills the position of VP Regulatory Affairs at ThetaRay.
Among his diverse skills and knowledge, Yaron’s responsibilities include aligning product features and functionalities to customer needs, regulatory engagement directly as well as in collaboration with customers, participation at closed events conducted by FATF and BIS, and contribution to EU commission research on TF.
Yaron is setting the best practices for the use of AI within a regulatory environment, including a Unique Model documentation, Governance and risk management frameworks.
Yaron is responsible for adherence to customer’s needs of existing use cases such as TF, ML, Fraud and Cyber risks within banks, leading the professional expertise for specific solutions : Correspondent Banking, Trade Finance, Capital Markets or for specific Typologies: TF, Human Trafficking.
Yaron also delivers professional training to employees & customers and mentors’ sales & marketing improving the company message being delivered to bankers, compliance & risk experts and regulators.
Previous roles:
Dan is admitted to practice law in England & Wales (2005), including as a Solicitor-Advocate (2010); in New York (2006); and in Western Australia (2016). He has previously been recognised as one of Singapore’s most influential lawyers aged 40 and under, and is referenced as a subject matter expert in legal directories. He is a member of each of the Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center; the International Tribunal of the Blockchain Arbitration And Commerce Society; and the International Bar Association.
Dan is a leading private practice dispute resolution and risk advisory lawyer, based in Singapore. Admitted to practice in multiple jurisdictions, including New York and England & Wales, Dan is most frequently involved in disputes and risk mitigation assessments relating to the bleeding edge of industry – including technology; future energy; and decarbonisation and, commonly, the intersection between them all. He is recognised in Best Lawyers for Singapore and Asia Pacific, and represents some of the world’s largest corporate entities, as well as fresh start-ups, on a regular basis.
Originally hailing from London but having been based in Singapore since 2010, Dan has a vast amount of Asia-focused experience, but with a strong grounding in UK- and US-related legal work. Dan is a lawyer, an advocate and an arbitrator, and a panel member of a number of leading arbitration institutions. He sits as arbitrator in international disputes. Dan’s experience is industry-focused, and he has been involved in a number of significant technology, carbon and energy and resources disputes, several of which have been valued in the billions of dollars. Having always maintained a keen personal interest in technological developments – not least the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence – Dan has sought to leverage this to his advantage by shaping his legal practice in a manner which permits him to be constantly fascinated by the subject matter of his assignments.
Dan is admitted to practice law in England & Wales (2005), including as a Solicitor-Advocate (2010); in New York (2006); and in Western Australia (2016). He has previously been recognised as one of Singapore’s most influential lawyers aged 40 and under, and is referenced as a subject matter expert in legal directories. He is a member of each of the Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center; the International Tribunal of the Blockchain Arbitration And Commerce Society; and the International Bar Association.
Emma leads collaboration with interdisciplinary teams, driving global internal and external conversations about the future of AI and ethical data usage and the role it plays in society. She is keen to lobby for regulations that promote innovation to minimise harms.
The future of AI will be defined by how well we balance safe, responsible and ethical innovation.
AI can transform industries. I don’t think we’ve seen the transformation arise yet, there is still a lot of hype about what technology can do, but I think we’re yet to really see it in action. There are benefits to what AI can bring to various industries – I hope organisations cut through the hype, address problem statements rather than applying band-aids and not fix root cause issues.
A number of organisations and some industries will need to reconsider their business model in the age of AI. If your business has traditionally focussed on content and image generation, you’d be re-thinking how you can continue to add value to clients.
From a policy perspective, we’re moving into an era where AI regulation is not just necessary—it’s inevitable. Jurisdictions like the EU, UAE, and Singapore are already setting the tone with frameworks that prioritize risk identification, and mitigation.
I envision AI evolving into a force that not only drives innovation but actively works to close the gap of global disparity. My hope is that we shift from building AI that is merely efficient or profitable, to building AI that is truly equitable, inclusive, and transformational. I hope AI will play a pivotal role in early detection, personalised treatment plans, and even the discovery of new therapies—helping us address conditions that today feel untreatable. Imagine a world where AI can identify diseases before symptoms appear, where treatment is tailored to an individual’s biology, and where access to healthcare insights isn’t dependent on geography or privilege. But for this to happen, we need to embed ethics, fairness, and accessibility into the very foundation of how we design and deploy AI systems. If done right, AI can be a great equaliser—bridging gaps in education, healthcare, and opportunity.Ultimately, I see the next decade of AI not just as a technological evolution, but a human one—shaping a future that is more inclusive, and more prepared to tackle the complex challenges of our time.
This work is helping to shape not just policy, but people’s lives.
The AI Asia Pacific Institute plays a vital role in shaping a future where AI is safe, inclusive, and truly beneficial for all. By continuing its strong work in public policy, the AIAPI can help ensure that AI governance keeps pace with innovation—prioritizing safety, accountability, and fairness. Equally important is the AIAPI’s advocacy for the underrepresented. Ensuring diverse voices are included in AI development is essential to avoid replicating existing inequalities in emerging technologies. Just as crucial is raising awareness of the disparities in access to AI tools and opportunities—because equitable access is the first step toward equitable outcomes.
And finally, the AIAPI’s efforts to raise awareness of AI risks—and how to mitigate them—are key to building trust. We can’t build a better AI future without helping people understand both the promise and the potential pitfalls.
Emma has collectively been in the banking industry for over 16 years, and has held various roles in customer service, Legal, Compliance and Technology, working on Regulatory and Investigative matters.
She is now part of the Group Chief Data Office, as Executive Director – Responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Ethics, combining a deep knowledge and experience in governance with a passion for ethical implementation.
Emma leads collaboration with interdisciplinary teams, driving global internal and external conversations about the future of AI and ethical data usage and the role it plays in society. She is keen to lobby for regulations that promote innovation to minimise harms.
Outside of her BAU role she is a passionate Diversity and Inclusion advocate with a focus on Disability and Children driving the accessibility and financial literacy agenda. She is a member of various local UAE and global Diversity and inclusion councils.
Emma is a Certified Data Ethics professional (Open Data institute), a Certified Data Management Capability Assessment Model (EDM Council), a Certified Data Steward (CDS) and is working towards completing the IAPP AI Governance certification.
He bridges technical innovation with real-world accountability, heading AI & Innovation globally in the Fortune 100 corporate sector and responsible for the world-first AI standards on security.
Dr Leong is an AI Specialist and Senior Lecturer with the School of Computing, Singapore Polytechnic where he teaches Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Concurrently, he is a consultant in the Data Science and Analytics Centre (DSAC), where he works on industry projects in Data Science and AI. He worked on a consultancy project implementing Explainable AI for AI-driven HVAC optimization.
In the next two years, AI will reach superhuman coding ability, automating complex software development and research tasks. AI agents will automate 15% to 50% of routine business tasks, with widespread adoption planned. The market for AI agents, including virtual assistants and autonomous decision-making systems, is projected to reach $50 billion by 2030. Robotics AI will expand in manufacturing, healthcare, and services, while AI in sciences will advance research workflows.
By 2030, the AI market is expected to exceed $500 billion, driving hyperautomation across sectors. AI agents will handle the majority of customer service and operational tasks, while robotics will become more integrated into everyday environments. AI will transform scientific discovery, environmental sustainability will become a major concern, and AI’s growing knowledge about individuals will test ethical and privacy norms. Regulatory complexity will increase, with frameworks like the EU AI Act shaping global standards. Societal challenges such as bias, privacy, and job displacement will intensify.
AI will evolve into a powerful force for automation and innovation. By 2027, AI agents will autonomously manage coding and research tasks. By 2030, AI agents will be capable of resolving 80% of customer issues, boosting productivity, and acting as autonomous researchers and decision-makers. Robotics will grow to work collaboratively with humans, and multi-agent AI systems will accelerate breakthroughs in fields like biology and medicine. Environmental impact, ethical concerns, and complex regulations will shape the trajectory, pushing for sustainable and privacy-aware AI development.
AIAPI can promote ethical AI development by focusing on trustworthy AI, as seen in its 2024 study in the Pacific Islands. By advocating for ethical standards, it can build public trust crucial to sectors like healthcare and finance. Through policy advisory work, AIAPI can influence governance frameworks and support equitable and sustainable AI policies, aligning with regional efforts like those by ASEAN. This positions AIAPI to play a key role in balancing innovation with ethical integrity.
Dr Leong is an AI Specialist and Senior Lecturer with the School of Computing, Singapore Polytechnic where he teaches Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Concurrently, he is a consultant in the Data Science and Analytics Centre (DSAC), where he works on industry projects in Data Science and AI. He worked on a consultancy project implementing Explainable AI for AI-driven HVAC optimization.
Dr Leong has conducted an executive course on Machine Learning and AI at the PWC Academy in Sri Lanka where he trained senior managers and executives in the telco, manufacturing and banking industries. In his previous role, Dr Leong was the Centre Director for the Applied ICT Research Centre in Singapore Polytechnic where he formed a new team of researchers creating innovative ICT applications for industry partners. Prior to joining academia, Dr Leong was a technopreneur and he was Director of R&D in an internet software start-up and CTO in a communications hardware startup. Being passionate about AI and Big Data, he keeps up to date with the latest research breakthroughs and participates actively in technical communities including the SGTech AI HPC Chapter and Singapore ISO/IEC JTC1/SC42 Artificial Intelligence Standards Technical Committee.
He is a founding member of the AI Professionals (AIP) Association. He was a reviewer for the AI Ethics and Governance BOK by Singapore Computer Society.
Hardeep brings over 24 years of experience in analytics, data science, and technology within the financial services industry. He is currently the Head of AI Engineering at Temus, where he specializes in designing and implementing scalable data systems with embedded intelligence. Hardeep has been pivotal in numerous client engagements across Singapore’s public and private sectors, including his contributions to the MAS Veritas initiative, which aims to enhance internal governance in the application of AI and data management.
Hardeep brings over 24 years of experience in analytics, data science, and technology within the financial services industry. He is currently the Head of AI Engineering at Temus, where he specializes in designing and implementing scalable data systems with embedded intelligence. Hardeep has been pivotal in numerous client engagements across Singapore’s public and private sectors, including his contributions to the MAS Veritas initiative, which aims to enhance internal governance in the application of AI and data management.
Previously, Hardeep served as the Head of AI in Financial Services at Element AI in Singapore. He also completed a brief tenure at Accenture, where he established an AI Lab focused on financial services use cases. Earlier in his career, he spent over a decade leading AI and analytics teams at major banks, including Standard Chartered, JP Morgan, and Barclays.
Hardeep holds a graduate degree in Computer Science, an MBA in Finance, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Applied Statistics. He advises several startups in the region and is a frequent speaker at industry events in Singapore, particularly on the topic of AI in financial services.
Marianne Winslett has been a professor with the Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign since 1987 (assistant, associate, full, adjunct, research, and emerita). Since 2020, she has also been a venture partner at R3i Ventures, which is based in Singapore. She served as the director of the Advanced Digital Sciences Center, a research outpost of the University of Illinois, from 2009 to 2013. Her research interests include information management, high-performance computing, and security. She received a Ph.D. degree in computer science from Stanford University in 1987 and an A.B. in math from Harvard in 1980.
Marianne Winslett has been a professor with the Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign since 1987 (assistant, associate, full, adjunct, research, and emerita). Since 2020, she has also been a venture partner at R3i Ventures, which is based in Singapore. She served as the director of the Advanced Digital Sciences Center, a research outpost of the University of Illinois, from 2009 to 2013. Her research interests include information management, high-performance computing, and security.
Professor Winslett is a Fellow of the ACM, and she received the Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation in 1989. She and her coauthors have received best paper awards from Very Large Data Bases (VLDB), USENIX Security, the International Conference on Data Engineering (ICDE), and IEEE BigData. She has served as an officer of ACM SIGMOD and ACM SIGAI, and on the editorial boards of ACM Transactions on Database Systems, IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering, the Very Large Data Bases Journal, ACM Transactions on Information and System Security, and ACM Transactions on the Web, where she also served as co-Editor-in-Chief. She received a Ph.D. degree in computer science from Stanford University in 1987 and an A.B. in math from Harvard in 1980.
Jose Luna is a PhD candidate at Singapore Management University (SMU), where he focuses on bridging the dialogue between computer science and policymaking. His research centers on Trustworthy AI, with a mission to advance the safe and secure adoption of intelligent systems. Jose also serves as a member and working group co-lead within the Artificial Intelligence Technical Committee (AITC), contributing to the development of technical references for AI security. His current research is centered around GenAI and how to mitigate its risks.
Jose Luna is a PhD candidate at Singapore Management University (SMU), where he focuses on bridging the dialogue between computer science and policymaking. His research centers on Trustworthy AI, with a mission to advance the safe and secure adoption of intelligent systems. Jose also serves as a member and working group co-lead within the Artificial Intelligence Technical Committee (AITC), contributing to the development of technical references for AI security. His current research is centered around GenAI and how to mitigate its risks.
Henry Dobson is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Biomedical Ethics at the National University of Singapore. His current research focuses on AI ethics, bioethics, and the possibility of machine consciousness and the notion of Artificial General Intelligence. Henry holds a PhD in AI Ethics from the University of Melbourne and a Master’s degree in Philosophy of Mind from Monash University. With over eight years of working in the technology industry, Henry has advised startups and enterprise organizations on product and business development. He is also an award-winning entrepreneur, having won the ‘Ecosystem Best Practice Challenge’ in the 2019 Young ICT Leaders’ Forum run by the International Telecommunications Union.
Henry Dobson is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Biomedical Ethics at the National University of Singapore. His current research focuses on AI ethics, bioethics, and the possibility of machine consciousness and the notion of Artificial General Intelligence. Henry holds a PhD in AI Ethics from the University of Melbourne and a Master’s degree in Philosophy of Mind from Monash University. With over eight years of working in the technology industry, Henry has advised startups and enterprise organizations on product and business development. He is also an award-winning entrepreneur, having won the ‘Ecosystem Best Practice Challenge’ in the 2019 Young ICT Leaders’ Forum run by the International Telecommunications Union.
AI Consultant | Master Student at UC Berkeley & SMU
Specializes in Voice & NLP, Geospatial Analytics, Generative AI and Healthcare domains with intersections of Cybersecurity for Government and webscraping capability for data analysis
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