Maroussia Lévesque Calls For Stronger, Clearer AI Governance

(MENAFN- ACCESSWIRE) CAMBRIDGE, MA / ACCESS Newswire / January 5, 2026 / Maroussia Lévesque, an AI governance researcher and SJD candidate at Harvard Law School, is raising awareness about the urgent need for stronger, more practical approaches to governing artificial intelligence. Her call comes following a recent in-depth feature interview that traces her career and research on AI regulation, market concentration, and the growing power imbalance in the global AI ecosystem.

Artificial intelligence systems are now used in hiring, credit scoring, policing, healthcare, and public services. According to OECD data, over 70% of governments now rely on automated decision-making tools in some form. At the same time, research from the IMF shows that just a handful of firms control the majority of advanced AI models, creating unprecedented concentration of technical and economic power.

"AI already shapes people's lives in quiet ways," Lévesque said. "The question is not whether we regulate it, but whether we do so in a way that is transparent, fair, and grounded in public interest, or let companies self-regulate."

Lévesque's work focuses on the gap between high-level AI principles and what actually gets built and deployed. While many governments and companies have published ethical guidelines, fewer have invested in enforceable technical standards.

"Principles are easy to agree on," she explained. "Standards are where the real decisions get locked in."

Her research highlights how technical standards-often written behind closed doors-can shape markets, limit competition, and determine whose values are embedded in AI systems.

Lévesque has worked on AI and human rights at Global Affairs Canada, contributed to Quebec's public inquiry on the electronic surveillance of journalists and their sources, and currently co-leads the AI Governance Working Group at Harvard's Berkman Klein Center. Her scholarship has appeared in the NYU Journal of Law & Public Policy, NeurIPS proceedings, and major media outlets including The Guardian.

"AI governance isn't just about ethics," Lévesque said. "It's about trade, labor, and who gets to set the rules that everyone else has to follow."

She also emphasizes the role of workers inside the tech industry. Studies show that employee-led interventions have influenced product design and policy at major technology firms over the past decade.

"Tech workers often see risks long before regulators do," Lévesque said. "They act as the industry's conscience, even when it comes at great personal cost."

The interview and Lévesque's broader work underscore the stakes. The UN estimates that poorly governed AI could widen global inequality, while effective oversight could help close gaps in access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunity.

Rather than calling for blanket bans or panic-driven responses, Lévesque advocates for informed civic engagement.

"Governance is not just something governments do," she said. "It's something citizens participate in, whether they realize it or not."

What Individuals Can Do Now

• Learn how AI systems are used in your workplace and community

• Ask who designs, audits, and oversees automated tools

• Support transparent standards and public-interest research

• Stay informed through credible policy and technology reporting

"AI is not neutral," Lévesque added. " It is shaped by human choices. That means people have agency."

For more information on Maroussia Lévesque's research and writing, visit maroussialevesque or maroussia.

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