The Global Governance of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) represents a technological upheaval with the potential to transform human society and is increasingly viewed by states and international organizations as an area of strategic importance. The international regimes that will emerge to regulate AI will have considerable impact on international power differentials, the distribution of economic value, and the legitimacy of these rules.

Yet there is little systematic knowledge on the nature of international AI regulation, the interests influential in this process, and whether emerging regimes can manage AI’s social consequences in a just and democratic manner.

This project examines the emerging international regimes on AI through a combination of legal, political, and normative analysis. The principal research questions are: (1) What are the key features of emerging international AI regimes? (2) How can we explain the nature of the particular regimes that are evolving? (3) What are the implications of these regimes for justice and democracy?

Specifically, the project focuses on international regulatory initiatives in three areas: weapons systems, law enforcement, and labor market conditions. In all three areas, rival interests seek to shape regulatory responses to the political and ethical dilemmas generated by the widening application of AI.

The project promises three central contributions to research and policy. First, it will offer the first systematic and comprehensive analysis of emerging AI regimes in three central areas. Second, it will offer a unique evaluation of the normative implications of how AI is being regulated (or not) at the international level. Third, it will provide policy-makers with evidence on international regulatory gaps, the interests that have influenced emerging arrangements, and the normative issues at stake when developing these regimes going forward.