According to new Global Trends research by Cullen International on policies and regulation on artificial intelligence (AI), national strategies on AI have been adopted (and in some cases updated) by all the surveyed economies, excepting South Africa.

Proposals for legal changes to address issues raised by AI (e.g. transparency) are less common, with examples found in Brazil, the EU, the UK and the US.

Non-binding guidelines or principles for AI use are more common and tend to focus on the ethical considerations of using AI. They have been adopted or are under preparation in all the surveyed economies, excepting South Africa.

Half of the 12 surveyed economies (Brazil, China, the EU, Germany, the UK and some US states) have rules requiring transparency, explainability and contestability of AI-based decisions in certain cases.

Regarding facial recognition technologies using AI, most of the surveyed economies have a special status for biometric data and protections in privacy rules (Australia, Brazil, China, the EU, Germany, India, Korea, South Africa, and the UK). Some US states have adopted specific biometric privacy laws.

There are exceptions to the privacy of biometric data granted to public authorities when needed to protect national security and the public interest in all the surveyed economies.

The research covers Australia, Brazil, China, the European Union (EU), Germany, India, Japan, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, the UK, and the US.

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