When technology moves faster than regulation, how can rules keep pace?
Law is designed to set boundaries. It tells us what is permitted, what is forbidden, and what must be done to remain accountable. But artificial intelligence complicates this picture. AI systems move across borders, evolve rapidly, and operate in ways that are not always transparent. The result is a profound tension: how do we enforce control over systems that resist being pinned down?
Who Enforces the Rules?
Traditional governance relies on states. Yet AI’s reach often extends beyond national borders. A model developed in one country can be deployed globally, shaped by datasets from dozens of regions. This raises the question: should enforcement rest with individual states, with corporations that create the systems, or with supranational bodies capable of coordinating across borders?
The Problem of Extraterritoriality
AI does not recognise frontiers. A regulation in the EU may shape how companies design systems used worldwide, while looser rules in other regions can create havens for risky experimentation. The clash of legal frameworks creates uneven standards and grey zones where accountability is hard to locate.
Enforcement Dilemmas
- Opacity: many AI systems are black boxes, making it difficult even for their creators to explain how decisions are made.
- Speed: lawmaking moves slowly, while machine learning techniques evolve at a pace regulators struggle to match.
- Corporate capture: regulators often rely on the expertise — and lobbying — of the very companies they are meant to oversee.
Principles or Rules?
One response is to treat AI law less like traffic regulations — with fixed, detailed instructions — and more like environmental law, guided by broad principles. These principles, such as transparency, accountability, and human dignity, provide a flexible foundation that can adapt as technology changes.
But principles only matter if they can be enforced. Without mechanisms for oversight and redress, principles risk becoming empty promises.
Why It Matters
The limits of control are not an excuse for inaction. They are a reminder that law must evolve alongside ethics — and that rules alone are never enough. Governance is not just about what can be written into statute, but about how power is distributed, how accountability is enforced, and how societies decide which values they refuse to compromise.