CNN holds inaugural Asia edition of Global Perspectives in Bangkok, drawing leaders on AI, climate, trade, and culture
CNN held the inaugural Asia edition of its Global Perspectives live event in Bangkok, Thailand, featuring 18 discussions and more than 30 panelists from government, business, and the arts. Speakers included European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Grab CEO Anthony Tan, and Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.
Single source · Not corroborated
The one-day conference spanned topics from artificial intelligence and renewable energy to cultural preservation and global trade disruptions, with executives and officials offering direct statements on each theme. Thailand's Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana Rajakanya, arriving from Paris, attended a panel on preserving traditional Thai attire, known as "Chud Thai," which she is campaigning to have recognized as UNESCO intangible cultural heritage.
On artificial intelligence, Grab CEO Anthony Tan announced on stage that the Singapore-based superapp would partner with OpenAI to train over 30,000 gig workers and entrepreneurs across Southeast Asia through a program called "GO Forward with AI," offering participants three months of free ChatGPT Plus access. OpenAI's Asia Pacific Managing Director Kiran Mani said the company has acknowledged models in development that "behaved in ways they shouldn't," and that AI agents are "exposing those vulnerabilities at a scale that is unprecedented." Gabriela Ramos, chair of the board of directors of the Center for AI and Digital Policies, said global AI oversight is urgent and cannot wait for a lengthy treaty process.
On climate and energy, Norway's Minister of International Development Åsmund Aukrust said the climate crisis "is here right now," while Sumant Sinha, founder of India's ReNew, said renewable energy has never been cheaper but the shift away from fossil fuels is not moving fast enough. Elizabeth Yee of the Rockefeller Foundation said energy poverty is blocking economic development and noted that roughly 90% of the population in the region — approximately 4 billion people — breathes air the World Health Organization does not consider clean.