Michalis, M. and Rozgonyi, K. 2026. Governing AI at the international and supranational level: Divergent approaches and implications for media governance. Journal of Digital Media & Policy. 17 (1), pp. 81-100. https://doi.org/10.1386/jdmp_00199_1
| Title | Governing AI at the international and supranational level: Divergent approaches and implications for media governance |
|---|---|
| Type | Journal article |
| Authors | Michalis, M. and Rozgonyi, K. |
| Abstract | Despite the lack of consensus on the definition of artificial intelligence (AI), significant efforts have been made in the past decade to establish governance frameworks addressing AI’s broad economic and societal implications. Adopting a governance perspective and based on extensive documentary and legal policy analysis, this article has two main objectives. First, it analyses emerging international and supranational AI governance frameworks, with particular attention to their guiding principles and mechanisms, focusing on the most significant initial attempts from the OECD, G20/G7, UNESCO and the earliest comprehensive legal instruments from the European Union and the Council of Europe. It finds divergence in priorities and values. Second, the article assesses the implications of these differing AI governance approaches for media governance, focusing on the EU. We argue that, although AI policies do not explicitly target the media, they nonetheless have substantial implications for the media. Specifically, the focus on AI regulation has sidelined key media policy debates, despite escalating challenges to media independence and pluralism. Furthermore, AI regulation is embedded in wider transformations in digital governance, institutional change, new platform regulatory mandates and challenges in aligning media policy objectives within this evolving context. An important observation is that long-established media regulators, traditionally tasked with protecting media freedom and democratic values, are being institutionally displaced within the EU’s emerging digital governance architecture. This transformation signals a deeper epistemological move from sector-specific expertise toward transversal forms of oversight, from media policy to technical standardisation and from public interest to market efficiency, product safety and systemic risk management. The article calls for reimagining media regulators’ mandates to include AI oversight, embedding them in horizontal governance structures and ensuring their active role in international and supranational coordination. Without such integration, media governance risks becoming a legacy function increasingly detached from the technological, institutional and actor configurations shaping today’s public sphere. |
| Keywords | artificial intelligence (AI) governance, international regulatory frameworks, EU digital regulation, institutional displacement, platform regulation, democratic media oversight |
| Journal | Journal of Digital Media & Policy |
| Journal citation | 17 (1), pp. 81-100 |
| ISSN | 2516-3523 |
| 2516-3531 | |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publisher | Intellect |
| Accepted author manuscript | File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1386/jdmp_00199_1 |
| Publication dates | |
| Published | 15 May 2026 |