Pioneering a R-Square AI Future from the Global South

The dominant paradigm of artificial intelligence (AI), concentrated in the Global North, operates through extractive models that concentrate wealth while externalizing social and environmental costs. This paper introduces RSquare AI (Regenerative & Responsible AI) as a sovereign alternative for the ASEAN region. Through a systematic review of literature (n=58) and qualitative analysis of 27 initiatives across six ASEAN nations, this research identifies a critical dual gap: a geographical bias in AI ethics scholarship (85% Western-focused) and a disconnect between regenerative economics and technological development. The findings inform a novel framework that transforms sectoral challenges into strategic assets. Central to this is the Regenerative AI Leadership Flywheel, a model for creating self-reinforcing innovation ecosystems grounded in polycentric governance, regenerative capital, and community-embedded living labs. The study concludes that ASEAN's cultural endowments, developmental agility, and sustainability imperative position it to not only adopt but to pioneer and export a form of AI that enhances, rather than extracts from, human and ecological systems.