FROM LAB TO LIFE
How AI Works in China
From Lab to Life examines China's governed AI market, where regulation collaborates with innovation. It determines which products launch, which companies scale, and how AI reaches users.
Following Baidu's path from search-era recommendation systems to Ernie Bot, one of China's first government-approved consumer generative AI services, the book explains how AI products are designed, approved, deployed, and distributed. It traces how Chinese firms adapted to U.S. semiconductor export controls and how Chinese models, infrastructure, and governance practices are spreading into Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
Grounded in Chinese-language regulatory texts, company filings, and technical documentation, From Lab to Life is for policy professionals, AI governance practitioners, investors, and business strategists who need more than headlines. It offers mechanism-level insight into how China's AI ecosystem operates and why that model matters far beyond China.
COLLIN HOGUE-SPEARS
AUTHOR AND SENIOR TECHNOLOGIST
Collin Hogue-Spears is a leading voice in international economics and political theory. His work focuses on the intersection of emerging markets and global trade policy.
With over two decades of research across four continents, his insights have guided policy decisions and informed a generation of thinkers in the new global era.
When laws evolve with the times, there is good governance; when governance fits the age, there is achievement.
法与时转则治，治与世宜则有功
Han Feizi (韩非子), Xin Du (心度), 3rd century BCE