Trust, Ethics and Digital Responsibility Take the Spotlight on Day One of DFCE 2025

Following its Opening Ceremony, the Digital Future Conference and Exhibition (DFCE) 2025, organised by the Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry (AITI) and held in conjunction with Brunei M.Y.C.E 2025, continued with a compelling line-up of presentations and panel discussions highlighting the importance of strengthening digital trust through responsible innovation, regulations, and ethical technology use.

The mid-morning session turned its focus to online safety, highlighting the shared responsibility of users, platform providers, and policy makers in ensuring a secure and respectful digital space for everyone.

The session opened with a thought-provoking presentation by Dr Siti Mazidah Haji Mohamad, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and Director of the Centre for Advanced Research, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, titled “Likes, Lies and Literacy: How Bruneian Youth are Navigating the Social Media Landscape”.

This was followed by a presentation on “Cyber Crime 2025: Combating Cybercrime and Protecting Communities Online” by ASP Mohammad Zulhemi Azmi bin Dato Paduka Haji Abdul Aziz, Senior Investigation Officer, Cybercrime Unit, Royal Brunei Police Force.

The morning session concluded with a panel discussion on “Staying Safe Online: Strengthening Community Guidelines and User Reporting”, featuring both presenters, as well as Dr Hjh Mawarani Hj Abd Hamid, Head of the Child Development Centre, Ministry of Health; and Nur Judy Abdullah, Founder and Executive Director, Project Women and Girls Development Enterprise. The session was opened by Nur Syamimi Binti Suhaimi, Manager of Content Regulation at AITI, and moderated by Debbie Too, General Manager of Corporate and GLC Sales at Imagine Sdn Bhd.

In the afternoon, attention shifted to the ethical development and deployment of AI, particularly how increased data use can expand risk exposure through misinformation, privacy breaches and biased outcomes. Discussions also explored how organisations in Brunei can adopt generative AI while ensuring transparency, accountability, and data protection.

These key points were highlighted in a presentation by David N. Alfred, Co-Head of Data Protection, Privacy & Cybersecurity Practice, Drew and Napier on “Navigating the Ethics of AI: Trust, Fairness, and Accountability”, followed by a presentation on “Expanded ASEAN Guide on AI Governance and Ethics – Generative AI” by Vikneswaran Kumar, Senior Manager for Development of Data-Driven Technology AI Governance and Safety of Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) from Singapore.

These insights set the stage for a panel discussion titled “Trustworthy AI: Embedding Responsibility into the Deployment of Generative AI”. Panelists included Vikneswaran Kumar; Tiaro Paska Rivo, Project Specialist, ASEAN, ASEAN Foundation; and Eddy Liew, Chief Technology Officer, IBM Malaysia. The session was moderated by Syafiq Bakar from the Strategic Management Unit of the Department of Educators Management from the Ministry of Education and member of the Working Group on AI Governance and Ethics.

The conference then addressed the practical side of data protection and privacy, with a presentation titled “A Practitioner’s Perspective on Implementing Data Protection Management Tools” by Christopher Chew, Technical Leader for Security & Digital Trust at CISCO and member of the IAPP Asia Advisory Board Press Release For Immediate Publication Member. The session continued with an insight into “The Personal Data Protection Law is Here, Now What? A Data Protection Officer’s Experience in Singapore”, delivered by Eu Gene Tan, President of AsiaDPO.

Brunei’s local context was brought into focus by Farah Zainal from the Data Protection Office of AITI, who presented on “Appointment of Data Protection Officers under the PDPO.” With Brunei’s Personal Data Protection Order (PDPO) recently enacted, these sessions provided timely and relevant knowledge to support compliance and operational readiness.

The session culminated in a high-level panel discussion titled “Beyond Compliance of the PDPO: Building a Data Protection Culture Across the Organisation.” Moderated by Farah Zainal, the panel featured Eu Gene Tan, Christopher Chew; David N. Alfred, Co-Head of the Data Protection, Privacy & Cybersecurity Practice at Drew & Napier, and Nadherah Amir, Cyber Security Compliance & Risk Engineer at UNN Sdn Bhd.

This session marks a key milestone for Brunei Darussalam’s digital ecosystem, reinforcing the critical need to develop a culture of trust, accountability and responsible data use. Attendees gain valuable insights that can help align their data protection strategies with both local legislation and global best practices.

As Brunei Darussalam continues its digital transformation journey, this year’s theme, “Building Trust and Enabling Innovation for a Sustainable Digital Future,” remains central.

DFCE 2025 resumes on Thursday, 5 June 2025 with sessions exploring how digital technologies are driving sustainable digital future. The public exhibition also remians open from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM at Setia Point, Berakas.

For more information and full programme details, please visit https://aiti.gov.bn/digitalfutureconfex.

The Digital Future Conference and Exhibition (DFCE) 2025 is held in conjunction with Brunei M.Y.C.E 2025, which is organised by the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism through the Tourism Development Department. The event is in collaboration with local and international government agencies, statutory bodies, higher educational institutions, stakeholders and private agencies.