Open Source Lawfare: AI Regulation After DeepSeek

BKC Spring Speaker Series Event

BKC Fellow Ben Brooks dives beyond behind the splashy AI headlines to the important policy forces shaping our regulatory landscape now and in the future.

The release of DeepSeek’s latest AI models shocked Washington. Since the launch of ChatGPT, policymakers have looked to chip and model controls to maintain US leadership in AI, and mitigate potential AI risks. The open-source release of a capable, efficient, and free alternative out of China throws these assumptions into disarray. As the Trump Administration prepares to respond, join Ben to discuss the uneven history of AI model regulation across the globe, how policymakers should think about open technology after DeepSeek, and why open innovation is still at a risk in a changing political environment.

Speaker

Ben served most recently as Head of Public Policy for Stability AI. In this role, Ben worked to promote a transparent and competitive AI ecosystem.

He has testified in the US Senate and UK Parliament, engaged closely with the EU on the AI Act, and represented a global ecosystem of developers at the inaugural AI Safety Summit. As a fellow at the Berkman Klein Center, Ben will scrutinize the regulatory and legislative response to generative AI, focusing on the direct and indirect implications for open-source model development. Previously, Ben drove regulatory advocacy for emerging technology with Uber, Coinbase, and Google’s drone delivery service, Wing, America’s first certified drone carrier. Across these diverse sectors, Ben worked closely with authorities on the ground in over two dozen countries – from Mandalay to Texas, from communist governments to royal courts, and from the White House to city hall. Within these firms, Ben championed a culture of “regulatory empathy” to accelerate the safe, fair, and durable reform of urgent technologies. Ben holds degrees in law, history, and English from the University of Sydney.