A new SAS report, with research insights from IDC, finds that Southeast Asia is leading globally in trustworthy AI as organisations rapidly adopt more autonomous, agentic AI systems.
Trustworthy AI
The second annual Data and AI Impact Report: The New Economics of Trust reported that Southeast Asia exceeded the global benchmark across all five dimensions of trustworthy AI.
- Data quality and governance.
- Model governance and oversight.
- Explainability and fairness.
- Responsible AI policy.
- Audit and accountability.
Southeast Asia’s Trustworthiness Index rose from 57.7 in 2025 to 66.5 in 2026, and its Trust Gap narrowed from 14.6 to 6.6 points.
However, the report emphasised that oversight must come hand in hand with AI deployment. While the region’s Audit & Accountability score increased 11.3 points, the proportion of organisations conducting regular AI audits or impact assessments fell from 47.3% to 21.3%.
“As AI becomes more autonomous, organisations face a new challenge: maintaining confidence in systems people don’t fully understand,” said Chris Marshall, vice president at IDC. “Our findings show that stronger oversight, explainability, accountability and data foundations are becoming prerequisites for scaling AI successfully.”
“Organisations in Southeast Asia that invest in building genuine AI capability will be better positioned to earn trust and lead in an AI-driven market,” said Deepak Ramanathan, vice president, Customer Advisory at SAS. “The region’s next challenge is turning its gains in trustworthiness into measurable impact.
