- China has a first-mover advantage in the AI regulatory sphere, having implemented an AI regulatory structure less than a year ago.
- In its approach, China took a stand on a number of open questions of AI policy that Western policymakers are wrestling with, such as whether to create a licensing regime, which firms to apply it to, and whether to create a single regulator.
- As the U.S. and its allies work on developing their own regulatory structure, they should engage with China to learn from its experience and explore whether any kind of global consensus on AI regulation is possible.
For all the energy and excitement surrounding new AI regulation in the U.S., the United Kingdom, and the European Union, China is first out of the box with a regulatory structure for AI, including for the new generative AI services that burst onto the scene less than a year ago with the release of ChatGPT to the public. Engagement with China’s regulators and experts on their experience developing and implementing AI law and policy would be in the best interests of Western regulators as they work to set their own policies. As China expert Matt Sheehan said in a recent Foreign Policy comment, the United States and its allies “can actually learn a lot from China’s approach to governing AI.”
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The US and its allies should engage with China on AI law and policy
