What the study found
The study found an emerging consensus across global AI governance documents around three core principles: Safety, Human-centric, and Fairness. It also found tensions between state and non-state actors, and between agreement in language and the practical implementation of that language.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors conclude that treating governance texts as dynamic semiotic systems helps move beyond the hard law–soft law dichotomy. They present their work as a theoretical basis for advancing more inclusive and operational governance models.
What the researchers tested
The researchers used a sociosemiotic perspective to examine how normative consensus and legitimacy are constructed in global AI governance discourse. They drew on a corpus of 47 international normative documents and analysed how the three principles were semiotically encoded.
What worked and what didn't
The study found that Safety is often framed through securitisation discourse, while Human-centric is increasingly grounded in international human rights frameworks. It also reports that nominalisation can create surface-level consensus, but this may introduce ambiguity that undermines enforceability.
What to keep in mind
The abstract does not describe detailed limitations of the study. The findings are based on 47 international normative documents and on discourse analysis, so the summary is limited to that corpus and approach.
Key points
- The study identified cross-textual consensus around Safety, Human-centric, and Fairness in global AI governance documents.
- Safety was often framed through securitisation discourse.
- Human-centric was increasingly linked to international human rights frameworks.
- Nominalisation helped create apparent agreement but also added ambiguity.
- The abstract reports tensions between state and non-state actors and between language and implementation.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Global AI governance shows consensus around three principles
- Authors:
- Jiaxuan Qiu, Le Cheng
- Publication date:
- 2026-04-06
- OpenAlex record:
- View
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