While the US, EU and China offer different approaches, all recognise that AI is too powerful and pervasive to be treated as ordinary tech Artificial intelligence is transforming the world at extraordinary speed. It is reshaping manufacturing, finance, healthcare, education, scientific research and even the way governments make decisions. While AI advances at an unprecedented pace, one fundamental question has come to the fore: how to govern intelligence in an interconnected yet increasingly fragmented world?
opening addressat the World AI Conference in Shanghai. If AI is becoming a defining technology of the 21st century, what kind of international governance architecture is needed to ensure it serves humanity?
different approaches. focuses onprotecting fundamental rights through risk-based regulation, transparency, accountability and the protection of privacy. China sees AI as a strategic engine for economic development and industrial upgrading, while also emphasising security, ethical governance and international cooperation.
These differences often dominate headlines. They may also obscure a more important reality. All three recognise that AI is becoming too powerful, pervasive and interconnected to be treated as ordinary technology.
Throughout history, transformative technologies have repeatedly forced societies to redesign institutions. Industrialisation transformed labour regulation. Global finance gave rise to international banking standards. Climate change has required entirely new forms of international cooperation. As institutional economist Douglas North observed, institutions evolve as changing economic conditions create incentives and uncertainties that existing rules can no longer manage effectively. AI may represent the latest example of this process.