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Spring 2025 Seminar

Comparative AI Governance

Prerequisite: None

Exam Type: No Exam

Many jurisdictions are coming to grips with AI, with a flurry of regulatory proposals highlighting the challenges of legislating fast-moving, complex, unwieldy technology. What kinds of AI applications are too dangerous to be deployed, and who should compensate harmed groups and individuals? Can companies be trusted to self-assess their compliance with AI regulation? What is the role of technical standards in operationalizing high-level legal requirements? Who should have a seat at the table where those decisions are made? Which regulator is best placed to monitor and enforce AI regulation?

This seminar will examine these questions through recent efforts to govern AI in the US and beyond. It will lay out different governance models and examine how their implementation plays out in practice. Interactive discussions will address challenges such as designing agile laws while maintaining public accountability; managing the tension between leveraging industry expertise and regulatory capture; and respecting domestic values while ensuring interoperability for global competitiveness.

Students may complete a research paper that would satisfy the Analytical Paper requirement.