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The Paradox of Chinese AI Regulation: Too Little and Too Much?

The Paradox of Chinese AI Regulation: Too Little and Too Much?

Recorded on Wednesday, Oct 11, 2023

This event is co-sponsored by the Guarini Institute For Global Legal Studies and the APEC Study Center at the Columbia University. 

About the event

China has rapidly emerged as a global leader in artificial intelligence, closely rivalling the United States. China is also at the forefront of regulating AI. It has proactively introduced some of the world’s earliest and most comprehensive rules concerning algorithms, deepfakes, and chatbots, among others. Angela Zhang, global professor of law at NYU School of Law, will take a dive deep into China’s regulatory landscape and provide a critical assessment of its AI governance strategies. She will also forecast the future direction of China’s AI regulation and explore its potential implications on the global community. Please read her most recent analysis on this subject here. Professor Benedict Kingsbury of NYU School of Law will moderate.

About the speaker

Angela Zhang is a global professor of law at New York University.  She also serves as an associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong, where she is director of the Philip K. H. Wong Center for Chinese Law.  Professor Zhang is a highly sought-after commentator on Chinese tech regulation and has published extensively in this area.  Her first book, “Chinese Antitrust Exceptionalism: How the Rise of China Challenges Global Regulation,” garnered significant media attention and was named a Best Political Economy Book of the Year by ProMarket in 2021.  Her second book, “High Wire: How China Regulates Big Tech and Governs Its Economy,” is set to be released by the Oxford University Press early in 2024.  Professor Zhang’s is currently researching artificial intelligence, with plans to both teach and write on AI regulation in the coming years. 

About the moderator

Benedict Kingsbury is the Murry and Ida Becker Professor of Law, vice dean of global programs, and director of the Institute for International Law at NYU School of Law. His broad, theoretically grounded approach to international law closely integrates work in legal theory, political theory, and history. His current research focuses on planetary and space law & governance issues, infrastructures as regulation, and global data law & AI. With NYU colleague Richard Stewart, he helped pioneer the field of global administrative law. Professor Kingsbury is also the faculty director of the Guarini Institute for Global Legal Studies and its Global Law & Tech initiative launched in 2018. Kingsbury has written on a wide range of international law topics, from indigenous peoples issues to interstate & investor-state arbitration, indicators & rankings, infrastructure, and genetic sequence data. His co-edited volumes include Megaregulation Contested (2019), The Quiet Power of Indicators (2015), Governance by Indicators (2012), and books on Hugo Grotius (1583-1645) and Alberico Gentili (1552-1608).