RESPONSIBLE AI

s AI reshapes economies, security and daily life, governments face mounting pressure to coordinate rules that balance innovation with protection of citizens worldwide.

Debates over global governance are intensifying as major powers pursue divergent strategies, raising risks of fragmentation, regulatory competition and uneven impacts across labour markets and public services.

Amid this tension, policymakers and industry leaders are exploring whether a pragmatic middle path can safeguard rights, build trust and still unlock the economic potential of responsible AI development.

Here, Tom Winstanley, CTO UK & Ireland at NTT DATA, examines the choices ahead and how the UK and Japan might lead the charge.

How urgent is the need for global AI governance? It is pressing, according to Sir Jeremy Fleming, the former Director of GCHQ. Speaking recently, he said we must quickly develop global AI governance – arguing that either“ we do that with an alliance of like-minded countries or we do that through some sort of established multilateral partnership”.

However, attempts to build such a governance system face a structural problem. Over the coming years, the nations with the strongest AI industries are likely to accumulate ever more data, capital, computing power and geopolitical influence.

TITLE: CTO UK & IRELAND COMPANY: NTT DATA

INDUSTRY: IT AND BUSINESS SERVICES

Tom has been with NTT Data since 2015, starting out as VP and Head of Digital Consulting at NTT Data UK. He has since progressed through the ranks to become CTO and Head of New Ventures for the UK and Ireland.

Their companies will export AI services with huge impacts on labour markets and public services elsewhere. Aware of the threat to their own economies and populations, many governments are competing to attract investment and anchor promising firms before the balance of power hardens.

The temptation here is for governments to minimise regulation of their AI sectors in order to maximise inward investment – but this threatens a race to the bottom in which the rights, freedoms and incomes of citizens are not protected. If communities find the AI revolution is exposing them to bias, discrimination, misinformation, security risks and unemployment, they will rapidly turn against both the technology and their political leaders.

The tension between fostering thriving AI sectors and safeguarding society is now at the heart of global AI policy.

136 June 2026