2025

AIF Insights No. 39 (2025) | Gatilok Ethics for AI

Author: CHHEM Kieth Rethy, MD, PhD (Edu), and PhD (His)

This paper examines how Gatilok parables, a classical Khmer moral tradition, can inform contemporary debates on AI ethics and governance. Drawing on six well known stories, it treats these parables as moral case studies rather than folklore, highlighting themes of authority without wisdom, silenced questioning, and ethical failure rooted in unchecked desire. The analysis showsContinue reading "AIF Insights No. 39 (2025) | Gatilok Ethics for AI"

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AIF Insights No. 38 (2025) | Science as Shield: How Small States Survive Through Cyber, AI, Math, and Physics

Release: 2025-12-17
Author: CHHEM Kieth Rethy, MD, PhD (Edu), and PhD (His)

This article argues that for small states, survival in an era shaped by great power rivalry, war economy dynamics, and artificial intelligence depends on scientific depth rather than size or rhetoric. It contends that mathematics, physics, and cyber capability form the core pillars of industrial capacity, technological sovereignty, and national security. Drawing on earlier CambodianContinue reading "AIF Insights No. 38 (2025) | Science as Shield: How Small States Survive Through Cyber, AI, Math, and Physics"

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AIF Insights No. 37 (2025) | Artificial Wisdom: The Khmer Path Beyond AI

Release: 2025-11-30
Author: CHHEM Kieth Rethy, MD, PhD (Edu), and PhD (His)

The Khmer Path Beyond AI explores how a mistranslation of “artificial intelligence” in Cambodia opened a deeper conversation about the difference between intelligence and wisdom. The article argues that while modern AI focuses on computation and efficiency, Khmer Buddhist thought offers a path that centers mindfulness, discernment, and compassion. It suggests that Cambodia’s philosophical heritageContinue reading "AIF Insights No. 37 (2025) | Artificial Wisdom: The Khmer Path Beyond AI"

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AIF Insights No. 36 (2025) | Khmer Gatilok and Relational Ethics: A Cultural Lens for AI Morality

Release: 2025-10-31
Author: CHHEM Kieth Rethy, MD, PhD (Edu), and PhD (His)

This essay examines the Khmer ethical system of Gatilok as a culturally grounded framework for AI ethics. Unlike Western approaches that prioritize universal principles, Gatilok emphasizes relational, situational, and long-term moral reasoning rooted in Theravāda Buddhist concepts such as intention (cetanā), karma (kamma), and social harmony (sampheap). Through stories, proverbs, and oral traditions, Gatilok teachesContinue reading "AIF Insights No. 36 (2025) | Khmer Gatilok and Relational Ethics: A Cultural Lens for AI Morality"

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AIF Insights No. 35 (2025) | From Medicine to Meaning: A Buddhist Journey through Being, Knowing, and Acting in AI

Release: 2025-10-10
Author: CHHEM Kieth Rethy, MD, PhD (Edu), and PhD (His)

The essay explores how Buddhist philosophy can reshape the way we understand and design artificial intelligence. It argues that AI should not be seen as an autonomous technological entity but as part of an interdependent web of causes and conditions. Drawing from Buddhist principles such as dependent origination (paṭiccasamuppāda) and non-self (anattā), the author redefinesContinue reading "AIF Insights No. 35 (2025) | From Medicine to Meaning: A Buddhist Journey through Being, Knowing, and Acting in AI"

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AIF Insights No. 34 (2025) | Hume, Nāgārjuna, and AI: A Fusion of Philosophies for a Digital Age

Release: 2025-09-26
Author: CHHEM Kieth Rethy, MD, PhD (Edu), and PhD (His)

This paper explores the intersection of David Hume’s empiricism and Nāgārjuna’s Madhyamaka philosophy as a framework for rethinking artificial intelligence. Hume’s bundle theory of the self and Nāgārjuna’s doctrine of emptiness both reject the notion of intrinsic identity, portraying persons and phenomena as dynamic processes rather than enduring substances. Recent scholarship suggests Hume may haveContinue reading "AIF Insights No. 34 (2025) | Hume, Nāgārjuna, and AI: A Fusion of Philosophies for a Digital Age"

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AIF Insights No. 33 (2025) | AI, Sovereignty, and the Fragmentation of Global Norms: A Legal Pluralism Perspective

Author: Pong Pich, MA in Public Law

Artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly challenges the state-centric foundations of international law and the conventional notion of sovereignty. Unlike traditional governance anchored in territorial authority, AI systems function transnationally, drawing on global datasets and shaped by multinational corporations and supranational institutions. This paper adopts legal pluralism as a conceptual framework to examine the fragmented and overlappingContinue reading "AIF Insights No. 33 (2025) | AI, Sovereignty, and the Fragmentation of Global Norms: A Legal Pluralism Perspective"

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AIF Insights No. 32 (2025) | Human Educators in Cambodia’s AI Era: Teaching Beyond the Algorithm

Author: KHEANG Kimsuan, BA in International Relations | LIM Sengkhoun, MD, MHPE, International FAIMER Fellow

This paper examines the integration of Generative AI (GenAI) into Cambodia’s education system and its impact on the teaching profession. While GenAI tools provide benefits such as personalized learning, real-time feedback, and student engagement, they also raise cultural, ethical, and technical challenges. GenAI cannot replicate human capacities for moral guidance, empathy, or cultural interpretation, andContinue reading "AIF Insights No. 32 (2025) | Human Educators in Cambodia’s AI Era: Teaching Beyond the Algorithm"

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AIF Insights No. 31 (2025) | Embracing the Transformative Power of AI

Release: 2025-09-14
Author: SAY Vithya Arthur, MA in Business Innovation (MBI) | ROS Sayumphu, MA in Security, Conflict and International Development, LLM in International Law

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming healthcare, transportation, and communication. This article traces the evolution and categorization of AI, while exploring ethical concerns such as bias and privacy. Emphasizing AI literacy and cross-sector collaboration, we argue for a responsible and inclusive approach to AI development that protects human values and enhances societal well- being.

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AIF Insights No. 30 (2025) | The Geopolitics of Mobile App Ecosystems: Power, Platforms, and Policy

Release: 2025-09-13
Author: ROS Sayumphu, MA in Security, Conflict and International Development, LLM in International Law | CHHEM Siriwat, Ph.D. Candidate in Leadership, Master of Digital Technology Management (MDTM), Master of Arts in Diplomacy

This article explores the geopolitics of mobile phone applications as platforms that shape digital sovereignty and global power. With billions of internet users and mobile subscriptions worldwide, mobile ecosystems such as Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android dominate global markets, while Chinese alternatives like Huawei’s HarmonyOS, WeChat, and TikTok face restrictions due to political tensions andContinue reading "AIF Insights No. 30 (2025) | The Geopolitics of Mobile App Ecosystems: Power, Platforms, and Policy"

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AIF Insights No. 29 (2025) | From Sandboxes to Systems: Governing AI-Driven Digital Health Platforms for UHC in Cambodia

Release: 2025-09-12
Author: Dr. Elias J. Engelking, MD, EMBA

Cambodia’s aspiration to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is inseparable from the country’s ongoing digital health transformation. As Digital Health Platforms (DHPs) begin to connect patients, providers and payors, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging as a driver of both efficiency and innovation by streamlining administrative processes, strengthening diagnostics and enabling new forms of patient engagement. Yet technology alone cannot deliver onContinue reading "AIF Insights No. 29 (2025) | From Sandboxes to Systems: Governing AI-Driven Digital Health Platforms for UHC in Cambodia"

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AIF Insights No. 28 (2025) | AI as Both a Vehicle of Epistemic Imperialism and a Tool of Epistemic Emancipation

Release: 2025-07-22
Author: CHHEM Kieth Rethy, MD, PhD (Edu), and PhD (His)

The article explores the dual nature of artificial intelligence (AI) as both a vehicle of epistemic imperialism and a tool for epistemic emancipation. While AI systems, especially large language models, are predominantly shaped by Western intellectual traditions, reinforcing epistemic hierarchies and perpetuating data colonialism, they also offer significant opportunities for amplifying marginalized voices and recontextualizingContinue reading "AIF Insights No. 28 (2025) | AI as Both a Vehicle of Epistemic Imperialism and a Tool of Epistemic Emancipation"

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