  As the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) continues to grow,
policymakers are increasingly grappling with the question of how to regulate
this technology. The most far-reaching international initiative is the European
Union (EU) AI Act, which aims to establish the first comprehensive, binding
framework for regulating AI. In this article, we offer the first systematic
analysis of non-state actor preferences toward international regulation of AI,
focusing on the case of the EU AI Act. Theoretically, we develop an argument
about the regulatory preferences of business actors and other non-state actors
under varying conditions of AI sector competitiveness. Empirically, we test
these expectations using data from public consultations on European AI
regulation. Our findings are threefold. First, all types of non-state actors
express concerns about AI and support regulation in some form. Second, there
are nonetheless significant differences across actor types, with business
actors being less concerned about the downsides of AI and more in favor of lax
regulation than other non-state actors. Third, these differences are more
pronounced in countries with stronger commercial AI sectors. Our findings shed
new light on non-state actor preferences toward AI regulation and point to
challenges for policymakers balancing competing interests in society.
