AI Policy in Action: Highlights from Pulse May 2025

May 30, 2025

As AI policy continues to evolve worldwide, this month brought a wave of significant actions from governments, institutions, and thought leaders working to align technological innovation with democratic values, public accountability, and international collaboration. Pulse May’25 edition showcases key developments, highlights from the Data for Policy community, and cutting-edge research that is helping shape the future of AI and data governance.

Global AI / Data Governance & Innovation

Recent Insights from Data for Policy CIC

  • Call for Contributions: Data for Policy 2025 – Asia Pacific: Join us on 23–24 October 2025 at SRIIAS, Tongji University, Shanghai for the Asia Pacific edition of Data for Policy 2025. Supported by The AI Hub in Generative Models and Cambridge University Press, this conference focuses on “Advancing AI: Innovations, Governance, and Ethical Frontiers.” Submissions of abstracts, papers, and panels on AI’s societal impact and governance are welcome.
  • New Preprints on AI Oversight: Dr Zeynep Engin and Prof David Hand, Data for Policy CIC Directors, published two innovative preprints proposing dynamic governance models for agentic AI. These include dimensional governance and the Human-AI Governance (HAIG) framework, offering adaptive and trust-centered oversight for autonomous AI systems.
  • Fireside Chat Recap: Elena Wüllhorst (King’s College London) and Dr Mona Sloane (University of Virginia) presented a review of 129 AI regulations across the US, Europe, and Canada. Their work highlights prevailing strategies and stresses the need for better alignment between AI policy and research.

News from Our Community

Latest Data & Policy Articles: The Data & Policy journal continues to publish forward-looking research:

On Our Radar: A new UK–EU agreement on AI is unlocking opportunities for deeper cross-border collaboration in research and innovation. The UK continues its AI momentum with the launch of “Humphrey,” an AI system to streamline public consultation analysis, and an open call for institutions to become AI Factory Antennas, linking to top-tier EU computing infrastructure. Meanwhile, the US House proposes a 10-year pause on certain AI technologies, and the UAE leads globally with the world’s first AI-powered Regulatory Intelligence Office. Across the globe, new executive actions, funding, and AI literacy programs signal a transformative policy shift in the governance of AI.

Reports and White Papers: The U.S. Copyright Office’s exploration of generative AI training using copyrighted materials underscores mounting legal concerns. The EU and UK release multiple studies, including a major report on semiconductor skill gaps and best practices in blockchain implementation across public and private sectors. Notable new publications also examine ethical data governance (AFD), LLMs in low-resource languages (Stanford HAI), and cloud computing monopolies (OECD). Africa-focused analyse from McKinsey highlights how talent, infrastructure, and partnerships could enable the continent to leapfrog in AI.

Articles Worth Reading: Featured academic articles examine AI’s evolving impact on society and governance. Stanford HAI’s work on “Simulating Human Behavior with AI Agents” and the “HealthBench: Evaluating Large Language Models Towards Improved Human Health” study on LLMs in clinical reasoning are standout contributions. Others explore algorithmic theory, feature augmentation, and the potential of generative AI as a cognitive partner—suggesting AI should be seen as a natural extension of human thought rather than a threat to it.

Blogs: Recent blogs delve into how governments are leveraging AI for economic growth and digital inclusion. One standout examines inclusive AI design through modern data architectures and multilingual tools. Another explores the transformation of education into a collaborative space between humans and AI. TBI’s reflections on Japan’s regulatory model and a blog on the evolving role of AI integrators in the tech supply chain provide rich policy insights.

Upcoming Events: June 2025 is packed with major events, including London Tech Week, The AI Summit London, and the UNESCO Conference on AI in the Public Sector. Global gatherings such as the G7 Summit in Alberta, the UN Public Service Forum in Uzbekistan, and OECD Ministerial Council in Paris will shape the future of digital governance, AI safety, and innovation diplomacy.

Opportunities to Explore: Open calls and fellowships are now available for researchers and practitioners. Highlights include the New Commons Challenge by the Open Data Policy Lab, the DSIT Fellowship (UK), and Science & Technology Policy Fellowships (AAAS, US). The Alan Turing Institute and Stanford Digital Economy Lab are also recruiting for AI governance and digital identity research roles.

To explore the full content of the May’25 newsletter, click here.

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