The trade organizations can use global data to develop AI. Shows trends of approval of AI.

Senior Fellow - Global Economy and Development. co-leads the Forum on Cooperation in Artificial Intelligence (FCAI). He holds an S.J.D. and LL.M. from the University of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor and law and commerce degrees from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia “The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on International Trade: Developing Trade Rules to Support AI”

In addition to the impact of AI on international trade patterns, trade rules as reflected in the WTO and in FTAs can also play a role in supporting the development of AI. The following outlines some key areas where trade rules will matter for AI development and deployment globally. The importance of data for AI Data localization measures that restrict the ability to move data globally will reduce the capacity to develop tailored AI capacities. Trade commitments on the free flow of data globally, as reflected in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and, more recently, in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will support the development of AI. As outlined above, access to large amounts of data is needed to train AI systems. Building AI systems that can respond to diverse challenges and different population groups requires access to global data. To take a relatively straightforward example, the development of speech-recognition AI requires access to large amounts of speech data that can capture local slang and intonation as well as less commonly used words. As a result, data localization measures that restrict the ability to move data globally will reduce the capacity to develop tailored AI capacities. Moreover, the development and use of AI builds on other digital technologies, the key ones being cloud computing, big data, and the internet-of-things.15 These digital technologies also rely on cross-border data flows. This means that data localization measures that restrict global data transfers will hit AI directly, by providing less training data, and indirectly, by undercutting the building blocks on which AI is built. Restrictions on cross-border data flows are likely to have the greatest impact on smaller (often developing) countries. The U.S. and China, with large internal populations, are less reliant on access to data from third countries to develop AI capabilities tailored to their domestic markets. However, to develop AI in areas such as health care, countries with smaller populations will require access to global health data. Limits on access to such data will reduce the accuracy and relevance of AI systems for developing countries.