Risk of Regulatory Capture in AI Governance

There is growing concern that AI governance is being shaped disproportionately by the companies being regulated:

• AI companies spend heavily on government lobbying and public affairs
• Former government officials frequently move to AI company roles (and vice versa)
• Industry representatives are heavily represented on government advisory bodies
• The complexity of AI gives companies an informational advantage over regulators
• Voluntary frameworks allow industry to set the terms of their own oversight

This creates a structural risk of regulatory capture - where the regulated entities effectively control the regulatory process. Democratic governance requires that the public interest, not industry preference, drives policy.