International Governance of AI

Our 2025 winter Buffett Symposium on AI and Geopolitics convened leading strategists, researchers, and policymakers to discuss the transformative opportunities and profound challenges that AI poses in geopolitics. The event was co-organized by the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs, Northwestern Security & AI Lab (NSAIL), and Insight Centre at University College Cork.

The daylong program's first panel discussion focused on international governance of AI. The panel discussed the complex interplay between geopolitics and the international governance of AI, emphasizing how national strategic interests and power dynamics — particularly between technologically advanced nations like the US and China — overshadow regulatory considerations. Panelists included:

• Yaron Gamburg, Research Associate at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel-Aviv, Israel

• Maria Vanina Martinez, Tenured Scientist at the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute at the Spanish National Research Institute in Barcelona, Spain

• Ruby Scanlon (SESP ’22), Research Assistant in the Technology and National Security Program at the Center for New American Studies in Washington, DC, who studied international relations and social policy at Northwestern’s School of Education and Social Policy

• Moderator Neha Jain, Professor of Law at Northwestern’s Pritzker School of Law and Deputy Director of the Buffet Institute

Key Takeaways

• Country-specific and regional AI governance reflects dynamic geopolitical priorities. Favoring a light-handed approach to avoid stifling technological growth, the US has focused on leveraging its AI leadership for national security. Scanlon noted that the US encourages voluntary collaboration between the private sector and agencies like the National Institute of Standards and Technology for AI model testing and accountability. Israel is among the innovation-focused countries tailoring sector-specific regulations for specific AI applications, such as interventional clinical trials using AI-based tools. In Latin America — where AI is forecasted to boost the region’s GDP by more than 5 percent by 2030, according to a report by The Economist — governments have demonstrated interest in adapting flexible, risk-based regulations inspired by the EU model. According to Martinez, the Milei administration in Argentina is moving toward complete deregulation of AI to catalyze innovation and foreign investment.

• Collaborative frameworks aim to expand strategic partnerships and increase diplomatic relations. In addition to the 38 OECD member countries, several non-members signed on as adherents of the Principles on AI, including Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Malta, Peru, Romania, Singapore, Ukraine, and Uruguay. In addition, the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence was drafted by the 46 member states in conjunction with all observer and several non-member states. Gamburg explained that a new India-Israel coalition strives to foster the development of mutually beneficial advanced technologies through a proposed middle path between the stringent EU and relatively lenient US regulatory models.

• Political and economic imperatives outweigh ethical concerns in many regions, sometimes at the expense of societal and human rights protections. Martinez underscored that AI development often relies on labor and data harvesting from developing nations. Workers in regions like Africa, Asia, and Latin America label data and curate content, often under exploitative conditions, prompting calls for better safeguards. Due to the global power imbalance, developing nations in the so-called Global South are being left behind in the race toward artificial general intelligence — and thus advocate for international cooperation to enhance local capacity while preserving their autonomy.

Read the symposium synthesis report >>