Technological advancement should prioritize equity along with economic gains to bring shared benefits to the public, experts from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation economies said.
The consensus was reached at the APEC Tech for Good Workshop held in Shenzhen from Wednesday to Friday, where representatives from 17 APEC economies shared their insights into how to steer technological development toward inclusive growth and narrow digital divides across the Asia-Pacific region.
“Responsible business conduct is not an extra burden for businesses, but a prerequisite for the sustainable development of emerging technologies,” said Pichamon Yeophantong, Asia-Pacific member of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights.
“If human impact is not taken into consideration at the design stage of a technology, costs of remediation incurred after its launch tend to be 10 times higher than preventive measures taken upfront,” she added.
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Kommate Jitvanichphaibool, deputy director of the APEC Center for Technology Foresight, stressed the importance of taking initiatives to steer technological progress toward equitable development for all APEC economies.
“Technology is not about predicting the future, but shaping it. APEC economies should move beyond passive adaptation to technological shifts, and take proactive steps to build an inclusive, resilient and human-centered shared future,” he said, adding that the spirit of “tech for good” lies in ensuring no economy is left behind amid the wave of technological advancement.
The discussion came at a time when artificial intelligence is transforming nearly all walks of life, creating concern over how cutting-edge technology can be better harnessed to bring universal benefits.
Akhmad Bayhaqi, senior analyst of the APEC Policy Support Unit, highlighted the value of joint efforts between governments and private sectors in bridging the digital gap among APEC economies.
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He noted that the gap in digital infrastructure building across APEC economies continues to widen, with broadband penetration rates differing by more than 40 percentage points between the most advanced and least developed economies in the region.
“The digital divide cannot be bridged by market forces alone,” he said. “Public-private partnership serves as a critical lever to narrow the disparity.”
A major challenge facing technological development is the regulation lag. Experts pointed out that regulatory legislation usually takes three to five years, but cutting-edge technologies iterate in just three months, leaving regulation lagging technological progress.
“The ethical review is not designed to stifle innovation, but to steer technological progress in the right direction,” Robert Sparrow, professor of philosophy at Monash University, said.
He added that credible ethical oversight relies highly on reviewers’ technical expertise. Without sufficient understanding of evolving technologies, ethical review risks becoming nothing more than a formality, which cannot regulate and guide technological advancement effectively.
The three-day workshop, which was co-hosted by the Science, Technology and Innovation Commission of Shenzhen Municipality, the Authority of Qianhai and Beijing International Exchange Association, is one of the APEC China 2026 series of events.
The representatives also visited leading enterprises in Shenzhen’s Qianhai special economic zone during the trip.
Contact the writer at sally@chinadailyhk.com
