OUP Book: Architectures of Global AI Governance

Abstract

The impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) are often framed as an uncontrollable wave of technological change. But AI’s trajectory is not preordained—its governance is a human choice, one that hinges on global institutions that are effective, coherent, and resilient to AI’s own disruptions.

As AI systems grow more powerful, states and international institutions today face mounting pressure to address their impacts. How can they govern this changing technology, in a rapidly changing world, using tools that may themselves be altered by AI? Architectures of Global AI Governance provides the conceptual and practical tools to tackle this question.

Drawing from technology law, global governance scholarship, and history, the book maps AI’s growing global stakes, traces the trajectory of the global AI regime complex, and sets the scaffolding for new institutions. The book argues that, in crafting a global AI governance architecture, we must reckon with three facets of change: sociotechnical changes in AI systems’ uses and impacts; AI-driven changes in the fabric of international law; and political changes in the global AI regime complex. Many AI governance approaches will be too static unless they adapt to these forces.

In response, Architectures of Global AI Governance equips researchers and policymakers with insights and actionable recommendations for questions of regulatory approach, instrument choice, and regime design. More than just an inquiry into how to govern AI, this book explores the changing face of global cooperation in the intelligence era—and how we can safeguard human choice over a future of transformative technological change.