Digital geopolitics: regulatory policy and its importance in artificial intelligence in the US, China and the EU

Artificial intelligence (AI) has always been a strategic asset in industrial policy, but with the emergence and proliferation of generative AI models, it has become a key pillar of geopolitical and economic competition. It has had the capacity to impact fundamental areas of the socio-economic sphere, triggering a race for technological dominance led by major word powers such as the United States (US) and China changing the rules of the global order. In this article, we review and illustrate with figures the impact of AI in various spheres and analyse and classify the regulatory measures adopted by the two major powers and the European Union (EU). The main contribution of the article is the classification of legislative and strategic measures in two dimensions: economic competitiveness and security and ethics, which allow us to compare the strategies of the three powers in the race for AI in a clearer and more structured way. The results show that while the US has promoted AI based on private sector-led innovation with minimal regulation, China has deployed a centralised state strategy with heavy investment in R&D and strict regulatory control. For its part, the European Union has developed a horizontal regulatory framework for AI with a weak competitive strategy but strong ethical and security support.