AIOM - Artificial Intelligence of Mann

AI governance, regulatory strategy, and the high-stakes bet small jurisdictions are making on the future of artificial intelligence.

The Island’s AI Adventures

The AI governance conversation is dominated by large states and tech giants. But some of the most interesting experiments in AI adoption, governance, and regulation are happening in small jurisdictions: places with an agile community, concentrated institutional knowledge, and a track record of building regulatory frameworks that punch above their weight.

The AIOM

I started AIOM to explore that intersection. It asks what happens when a jurisdiction of 85,000 decides to take AI seriously, not as a branding exercise, but as an institutional design challenge with real economic, legal, democratic, and demographic stakes.

I write from the Isle of Man, where I practise law as a Senior Associate at MannBenham Advocates and serve on the Isle of Man National AI Office AI Advisory Group, the body through which the NAIO consults the private sector. I am currently the only legal practitioner in the group. Before the Isle of Man, I practised at the Hong Kong Bar, worked in an access to justice charity in England, and qualified as an England and Wales Solicitor. I am a Member of the IAPP and hold its AI Governance Professional (AIGP) certification.

I had a happy childhood in Canada and grew up in Hong Kong. I understand, from experience rather than theory, why it matters who governs AI and how.

Views expressed here are my own. Published fortnightly.