From Private Regulation to Power Politics: The Rise of China in AI Private Governance Through Standardisation

Abstract

This article explores different accounts of private regulation in Artificial Intelligence (PRAI) and asks whose views are being implemented in the development of non-state rules for AI. This question is explored through a normative analysis of the political economy of technology and ethical standardisation. The research characterises the distributional outcomes of private regulation, showing how private regulation is currently shaping AI governance. The article argues that the current AI governance framework is built not only on its technical and ethical layers but also -and perhaps most importantly- on the institutional and procedural architecture of international standardisation. Drawing on empirical research, the article finds an increasing role of China in private governance and suggests that the incorporation of ethical discussions into standard-setting would be a first building block in the formation of forthcoming AI governance in an imminently hyperconnected world.

Keywords: AI governance, standardisation, private governance, tech policy, geopolitics, China, ITU