Norms, Regulation, Governance: How, by Whom, and by What Means Can the Use of Artificial Intelligence Be Shaped by Society?

AI regulation, defining norms, and governance regarding AI are not only difficult endeavors due to rapid development of AI technology; the complexity of the issue at stake alone and its social, economic, societal, and political aspects raise far-reaching and interdependent challenges. Given globalized research and development as well as the worldwide use of AI, national regulations are probably doomed to fail; supranational norms, regulation, and governance, in turn, pose the problem of enforceability. Not least for this reason, current regulatory approaches differ greatly in terms of their sophistication and effectiveness, because, among other things, the stakeholders involved have rather different interests as well as exert influence in different ways and varying degrees; simultaneously those stakeholders vie for imposing their view and interpretation regarding the discourse on defining norms, regulation, and governance of AI. The complexity of the situation is also increased because AI can be directly and indirectly regulated, and norms can be directly and indirectly imposed, but there is also regulation of humans and their behavior by AI. This paper aims to illustrate the complexity of the field, introduces types of actors, describes various regulatory approaches, and provides a preliminary assessment of the possibilities of defining norms, regulation, and governance of AI.