China is now the “good guy” on artificial intelligence, while Donald Trump’s United States is taking a dangerous “wild west” approach to the technology, a former UN and UK government adviser has told MPs.
Prof Dame Wendy Hall, who served on the UN’s AI advisory board and co-authored a review of AI for Theresa May’s government, made the remarks to the House of Commons business and trade committee.
Hall said China was supporting multinational efforts to establish global governance for AI, in contrast to the US. She argued that America had created a race among profit-driven companies that depended heavily on hype.
The comments highlight the growing divide over how governments should regulate and shape the development of AI. Hall’s evidence framed China as more willing to work within international efforts, while the US was portrayed as favouring rapid commercial competition over coordinated oversight.
AI policy has become an increasingly contested issue as countries seek to balance innovation, economic advantage and public safety. Hall’s remarks to MPs focused on the need for global governance at a time when the technology is spreading quickly across industries and public life.
Her intervention adds to debate in Westminster over how Britain and other countries should respond to the direction of AI development in the US and China. The contrast she drew between the two powers centres on whether the technology should be led by international cooperation or by a competitive market dynamic.
The House of Commons committee heard that China is backing multinational attempts to introduce global rules for AI, while the US is seen as encouraging a more chaotic environment shaped by profit and hype. Hall’s evidence placed the issue in stark geopolitical terms, with implications for future regulation and international standards.
