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July 7, 2025

The unlikely lessons of sword fighting for AI regulation

Regulating the technology is rapidly emerging as one of the world’s biggest — and hardest — policy challenges.

John Thornhill

4 min read

I remember a scene from a film I watched as a kid (even if I can’t remember the name of the film itself) about sword fighting. A veteran instructor told a newbie French cadet that he should grip his sword as if he were holding a small bird in his hand. Too tight, and he would crush the bird. Too loose, and it would fly away. Leaping heroically across subject categories: that’s the same challenge facing AI regulators today.

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John Thornhill

John Thornhill is Sifted’s founder and innovation editor of the Financial Times. He tweets from @johnthornhillft

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