Proponents of AI governance often look to the past for examples of how AI might be governed multilaterally. Individuals concerned about AI arms races borrow from nuclear institutions, while those who worry about uncertainty support a scientific panel akin to the IPCC. Others draw on issue areas as diverse as particle physics, civil aviation, and financial regulation.

In this talk, Dr Julia Morse, Visiting Fellow of the Oxford Martin AI Governance Initiative, will discuss the value and limitations of such approaches. Historical analogies offer an easy template for policymakers to envision AI governance. Yet each governance body reflects a distinct set of political opportunities and constraints, many of which map uneasily onto the challenge of AI. Dr Morse will highlight such considerations and offer a framework for deciding if, when, and how to borrow from historical examples when designing AI governance.

Registration on this page is to watch the event online. To attend in-person at the Oxford Martin School, please register at https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/events/historical-analogies-in-ai-governance

Julia C. Morse is a Visiting Fellow at the Oxford Martin AI Governance Initiative, an inaugural recipient of the Robert A. Belfer International Affairs Fellowship in European Security from the Council on Foreign Relations, and an assistant professor of political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Her research examines international organisations and global governance, with particular attention to issues of monitoring, compliance, and market-driven enforcement. Her book The Bankers' Blacklist: Unofficial Market Enforcement and the Global Fight against Illicit Financing (Cornell University Press, 2022) discusses how the Financial Action Task Force has used a public non-complier list to incentivise countries around the world to adopt more stringent laws against terrorist financing. The book was shortlisted for the BISA IPEG book prize. Julia's work has appeared in top academic journals like International Organization and The Journal of Politics, as well as public-facing outlets like The Washington Post and The Atlantic.

'Back to the future? The promise and peril of historical analogies in AI governance' with Dr Julia Morse