Can Southeast Asia balance digital expansion with its clean energy priorities? As global demand surges for cloud computing, e-commerce, and generative artificial intelligence (AI), ASEAN states are emerging as critical nodes in the global digital infrastructure landscape. A major component of this growth is the expansion of the region’s data centres, fuelled by significant investment from foreign Big Tech.

For many young people, artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a distant technology. It is already part of everyday life: helping with homework, summarising notes, drafting messages, answering questions and, increasingly, offering a space to talk. Generative AI chatbots are always available, non-judgmental and responsive. For adolescents navigating stress, loneliness or uncertainty, these qualities can make them feel less like tools and more like companions.

In March 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted a network of individuals for allegedly smuggling roughly USD2.5 billion worth of Super Micro servers containing Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips through a sophisticated multi-jurisdictional operation designed to circumvent US export controls and route hardware to restricted buyers. Singapore, alongside other regional hubs, has been identified in the broader investigation as part of the grey market infrastructure through which such diversions operate. This raises important questions about Singapore’s role in global technology supply chains.

Resilience has become a familiar term in recent years, especially after COVID-19, supply chain disruptions, rising geopolitical tensions and rapid technological change. But today, resilience is no longer just about recovery. It is about how countries and regions adapt and rethink how they operate in a more uncertain and fragmented world. For ASEAN, this challenge is particularly complex. Resilience looks different across emerging technologies, global value chains and health and other non-traditional security issues. And policy choices in one area can create vulnerabilities in another. In this episode's of Policy Unpacked, join our expert panel, LKYSPP's Dr. Denis Hew and Dr Miguel Gomez, Senior Research Fellows at the Centre on Asia and Globalisation, SMU's Associate Professor Chang Pao Li and RSIS' Professor Mely Anthony, as they explore what resilience really means for ASEAN and what it will take for the region to remain competitive, resilient and secure.