As governments around the world struggle to keep pace with the rapid development of artificial intelligence, attention is increasingly shifting from the technology itself to the institutions responsible for governing it.
The International Bar Association (IBA) has announced the launch of the IBA Artificial Intelligence Institute, a new initiative intended to bring legal expertise into global debates around AI governance, accountability and regulation. The move reflects growing recognition that the challenges posed by artificial intelligence extend beyond technical development and into questions of law, democracy, public trust and international cooperation.
The Institute will be led by Dr Farzana Dudhwala, who joins from Meta, where she most recently served as Global AI Policy and Governance Lead. Her previous roles also included work on AI strategy within the UK Government and the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation.
The launch comes at a time when policymakers, businesses and regulators are grappling with how best to oversee increasingly powerful AI systems. While investment in AI continues to accelerate, governance frameworks remain fragmented across jurisdictions, creating uncertainty for organisations developing and deploying the technology.
From innovation to accountability
Much of the public discussion around AI has focused on innovation, productivity and economic opportunity. Increasingly, however, questions surrounding accountability, transparency and legal responsibility are moving to the forefront.
Governments and international organisations are examining issues ranging from algorithmic accountability and intellectual property rights to privacy, labour market disruption, democratic resilience and access to justice. At the same time, differing regulatory approaches between regions have highlighted the difficulty of establishing consistent international standards.
Against that backdrop, the IBA believes the legal profession has an important role to play in helping shape future governance frameworks. Drawing on a network of more than 80,000 lawyers and 190 bar associations and law societies worldwide, the Institute aims to contribute legal expertise to discussions that have often been dominated by governments and technology companies.
The organisation said the Institute will focus on interdisciplinary collaboration, bringing together lawyers, technologists, policymakers, academics, civil society groups and industry leaders. The objective is not only to address legal challenges created by AI but also to ensure that governance discussions reflect a broader range of social and economic considerations.
A global debate with unequal representation
One of the most significant themes behind the launch is concern that global AI governance discussions may be shaped disproportionately by a small number of countries and institutions.
The IBA has stated that perspectives from underrepresented jurisdictions should play a more meaningful role in determining how future AI systems are governed. The Institute intends to support dialogue and capacity-building initiatives designed to reduce governance inequalities between regions and ensure that future frameworks reflect diverse legal traditions and societal priorities.
That issue is becoming increasingly important as AI technologies are deployed globally while regulatory approaches remain largely national or regional in nature. Policymakers have repeatedly highlighted the risk that countries with fewer resources or less influence in international forums may have limited input into rules that could ultimately affect their economies, legal systems and citizens.
Law seeks to keep pace
The appointment of Dudhwala also reflects the increasingly specialised nature of AI governance as a field in its own right. Her experience spans industry, government and academic research, areas that many observers believe will need to work more closely together if regulatory frameworks are to remain relevant as technology evolves.
The broader challenge facing policymakers is that AI development continues to advance at a pace that often exceeds the speed of legislative and regulatory processes. That gap has fuelled growing debate about whether existing legal frameworks are sufficient to address emerging risks or whether entirely new approaches will be required.
The launch of the IBA Artificial Intelligence Institute suggests that legal institutions are seeking a more active role in that discussion. As AI becomes more deeply embedded in economies, public services and democratic institutions, governance may prove to be as consequential to the technology’s future as advances in the models themselves.
The Institute has been established under the leadership of former IBA President Jaime Carey and current President Claudio Visco and will work alongside existing IBA committees that are already examining AI-related issues across different areas of legal practice.
