A Question of (Regulatory) Style? Regulating Artificial Intelligence in the European Union and the United States

Why do decision-makers regulate Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the European Union (EU) and the United States of America (USA) with different policy choices? Although there are few doubts that the dependent variable of AI regulatory policy differs on the two sides of the Atlantic, the following questions arise: How does regulation differ, exactly? And what is the independent variable that explains this difference? We explore the current state of play with AI regulatory policies in the EU and the USA by drawing on the well-known concept of regulatory style, but develop the empirical connotation and denotation of this concept in more granular ways. Once we have done that, we turn to possible explanations of the differences in styles, considering the literature on the political economy of digital empires, pressure group politics, risk regulation attitudes, and the structure of American and EU federalism. Finally, we discuss whether the strengths and weaknesses of the two styles of regulation, arguing that much depends on how the EU AI Act will be implemented and enforced.