Seeing the full picture: an integrated regulatory model for AI

Abstract While many nations around the world have released principles and ethical frameworks to shape the development and use of AI, there has been a notable absence of regulation. While many voices have emotively articulated why we need AI regulation, few have suggested how this can be achieved. One reason for this conspicuous absence of regulation may be the lack of a clear model for connecting future AI-specific regulation to the existing labyrinth of non-AI-specific laws that can potentially apply to AI systems, services, and products. The ubiquitous nature of AI, a general-purpose technology that diffuses across sectors, analogous to former inventions such as electricity, semi-conductors, and nuclear power, exacerbates this problem. A further reason for the lack of AI regulation may be uncertainty as to how to appropriately calibrate safety and innovation, and a growing divergence between legal, business, and tech communities on the best way forward. In such a vexed and complex environment, the objective of this article is to present a four-step integrated regulatory model for the development and use of AI. To do so, the article begins by examining existing AI principles and ethical guidelines to discern common values, principles, and priorities that resonate across jurisdictions. The USA, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and the OECD have been selected for examination as they display a nuanced discourse. Building on this principled foundation, the article then considers the unique features of AI that need to be addressed when developing a regulatory framework, as well as insights that may be gained from relevant traditional regulatory theories. Based on this foundational analysis, the article suggests a new four-step integrated model of AI regulation. It is hoped that the proposed model will provide insights and ideas to regulators, policy makers, and others involved in the critical enterprise of our time - designing AI regulation that is both legally sound and logistically enforceable.