From Lab to
Life.
How AI works in China — a mechanism-level account.
"A fascinating primer on China's AI culture."
★ Starred Review · BlueInk Review
"A nuanced, tech-savvy analysis of an often misunderstood yet globally dominant AI system."
Kirkus Reviews
"The perfect blend of science, policy-making influences, and probe into Chinese systems and affairs."
D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer · Midwest Book Review
"Going beyond the headlines to explain the actual workings of AI in China, From Lab to Life is an illuminating technology survey."
4 out of 5 Stars · Foreword Clarion Reviews
Inside China's AI ecosystem, regulation is not a brake applied after innovation. It is market infrastructure: it defines access, shapes product architecture, and determines which firms reach users at scale.
From Lab to Life explains how China built the world's first governed AI ecosystem, moving from invisible search ranking and super-app infrastructure to algorithm filings, generative AI approvals, open-weight models, procurement channels, and exportable governance frameworks. Baidu runs through the book as a connecting thread, not its subject. Its path from search-era machine learning to Ernie Bot makes the larger system visible.
Out now
