Horizontal regulation establishes broadly applicable requirements across applications of a technology. In artificial intelligence (AI) governance, it aims to address risks across the technology rather than regulate only one use, as with vertical regulation. section 10.31
Its broad scope creates both advantages and practical tensions:
- Covers multiple AI applications under a common framework, as the European Union’s AI Act aims to do. section 10.31
- Can provide consistent expectations for developers, but broad rules may struggle to fit rapidly changing technologies and varied risks. section 10.31
- Differs from China’s iterative, vertical approach, which began with recommendation algorithms, expanded to deep synthesis, and later addressed generative AI. section 10.31
