{"id":43300,"date":"2026-05-19T00:48:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T00:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/43300\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T00:48:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T00:48:12","slug":"mapping-how-big-ai-influences-ai-laws-and-oversight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/43300\/","title":{"rendered":"Mapping how ‘Big AI’ influences AI laws and oversight"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Law<\/p>\n

Credit: Pixabay\/CC0 Public Domain<\/p>\n

Artificial intelligence (AI) companies influence policy and regulation using similar techniques to Big Tobacco, Big Pharma and Big Oil, according to a new study.<\/p>\n

The influence methods of Big AI\u2014companies that have developed and deployed large-scale AI technologies\u2014have been mapped based on news articles around large global AI-focused events.<\/p>\n

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh, Trinity College Dublin, TU Delft and Carnegie Mellon University, analyzed news articles for evidence of methods used to control the narrative and influence policy measures related to AI.<\/p>\n

They identified 27 established patterns of “corporate capture<\/a>“\u2014a process by which regulation and public bodies come to act in the interest of corporations rather than people.<\/p>\n

The researchers analyzed 100 news stories published around four global AI events between 2023 and 2025\u2014the EU AI Act trilogues and the global AI summits in the UK, South Korea and France\u2014and found 249 cases fitting capture patterns.<\/p>\n

Key capture tactics uncovered<\/p>\n

Of the mechanisms deployed, one of the most prevalent was “narrative capture,” which the team describe as attempts to influence the position or decisions of public officials and regulations.<\/p>\n

The dominant narratives were around how “regulation stifles innovation” and “red tape,” whereby regulation is first portrayed as unnecessary, excessive or obsolete, setting the stage for later calls explicitly advocating for “deregulation.”<\/p>\n

One of the other prevalent capture mechanisms used is what the team refers to as “elusion of law<\/a>,” which relates to violations and contentious interpretations of antitrust, privacy, copyright and labor laws.<\/p>\n

The research suggests that Big AI has undermined and resisted regulation, oversight and enforcement in a variety of ways, such as lobbying and retaliation against whistleblowers, researchers and lawmakers.<\/p>\n

It was also found that in some cases the AI industry has benefited from a “revolving door<\/a>” model where former policymakers go on to advise or take employment with major AI companies.<\/p>\n

There are also many examples of Big AI making significant donations to political parties and public officials owning equity in regulated companies, experts say.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLessons from other powerful industries<\/p>\n

The team highlighted lessons to be learned from adjacent movements in similar industries such as Big Tobacco, Pharma and Oil on some of the tactics used to prevent capture.<\/p>\n

These include calls for separation between public and private interests and binding rules for government-industry interactions to manage conflicts of interest.<\/p>\n

The findings have been peer reviewed and will be presented at the ACM Conference<\/a> on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency in June 2026. A version of the paper is also available<\/a> on the arXiv preprint server.<\/p>\n

Researchers warn on democratic implications<\/p>\n

Dr. Zeerak Talat, Chancellor’s Fellow at University of Edinburgh’s School of Informatics, said, “It’s remarkable how the findings relate to common experiences of companies having greater influence over democratic processes than people. While we cannot draw a causal relationship between attempts at corporate capture and the disenfranchisement of citizens, the former certainly seems to hint at the latter.”<\/p>\n

Dr. Abeba Birhane, Director of Trinity College Dublin’s AI Accountability Lab, said “In addition to ‘narrative capture’ and the violations and contentious interpretations of antitrust, privacy, copyright and labor laws that were most recurrent, we also found that Big AI frequently uses the notion that ‘regulation stifles innovation’ and that ‘red tape can stymy national interest’ to rationalize their control of the overall narrative.”<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPublication details\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Abeba Birhane et al, Big AI’s Regulatory Capture: Mapping Industry Interference and Government Complicity, arXiv (2026). DOI: 10.48550\/arxiv.2605.06806<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJournal information:
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tarXiv<\/a>
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProvided by
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUniversity of Edinburgh<\/a>
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n Who’s behind this story?\n <\/p>\n


\n \"Gaby
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Gaby Clark<\/a><\/p>\n

\n MA in English, copy editor since 2021 with experience in higher education and health content. Dedicated to trustworthy science news.
\n
\n Full profile \u2192
\n <\/a>\n <\/p>\n


\n \"Robert
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Robert Egan<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Bachelor’s in mathematical biology, Master’s in creative writing. Well-traveled with unique perspectives on science and language.
\n
\n Full profile \u2192
\n <\/a>\n <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCitation:
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMapping how ‘Big AI’ influences AI laws and oversight (2026, May 18)
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tretrieved 18 May 2026
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfrom https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-05-big-ai-laws-oversight.html\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
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