IntroductionArtificial intelligence has shot to the top of the global agenda, as the international order is mired in what Eurasia Group founder Ian Bremmer calls a “geopolitical recession.” Global efforts to agree on principles and guardrails for AI are taking place against a backdrop of intense geopolitical competition, disruption, and a deficit of international leadership.
Even in such an environment, global leaders' efforts to create governance frameworks for AI have been impressive. From the UN Global Digital Compact to the Paris AI Action Summit, governments have recognized the mutual imperative to ensure that AI's potential is harnessed safely and responsibly. Now, the challenge is to build coherence and consensus around the expanding web of AI initiatives and principles that have already been crafted by a wide range of organizations, including the OECD, UNESCO, the Council of Europe, the G7, and more.
Despite the flurry of global, regional, and national policymaking activity around AI in recent years, longstanding global governance challenges involving the use and handling of data—which is critical to ensuring trustworthy AI—remain unresolved.
It is often noted that AI runs on data. But data, and specifically data governance, are often treated as separate matters from AI in policy conversations. As a result, multilateral discussions on the free flow of trusted data and global data governance have not fully benefited from the momentum surrounding AI. If anything, the trend risks moving in the opposite direction, with governments considering the creation of policy barriers and implementing data localization and data sovereignty measures that would challenge the movement of data. That would impede the ability of governments, regulators, industry, and society to harness the benefits of AI technologies. This trend must be reversed.
To ensure AI can reach its full potential, we need to connect the dots between AI, data inputs, and data policy. That means refocusing on ensuring the data used to power AI systems is accurate, trustworthy, and able to flow freely and securely—wherever and whenever needed. It means breathing new life into global initiatives designed to achieve these objectives, despite growing geopolitical tensions. And it means empowering the access, use, and reuse of data, with robust controls in place, but without unnecessarily complex regulatory requirements.
This report outlines why data matters for AI and the main issues at stake. It highlights some innovative solutions that businesses are deploying, and it suggests considerations for both government and industry to foster innovation and a pro-growth environment.
Download the full report below.
This report was also published by LSEG here on February 10, 2025.
