To maintain leadership in AI development, states are increasingly imposing new tariffs on technology-intensive products essential for AI development, including semiconductors and data processing machines. Despite such protectionist measures, AI models continue to emerge around the globe (e.g., DeepSeek being introduced after the release of ChatGPT), creating upward pressures for AI regulation. This raises questions about the effectiveness of trade policy in regulating the diffusion of AI technologies and whether the exchange of not only goods but also services and human capital plays a role in the diffusion process.In this project, Sojun Park, PhD, employs new identification strategies to test the relative contributions of goods, services, and talent flows to the spread of AI capabilities in global markets. By combining granular export data, patent filings, and migration records, he explores whether the global diffusion of AI is shaped less by conventional trade policy and instead more by cross-border knowledge transfers and international collaborations.Sojun Park is a post-doctoral associate at the MIT Center for International Studies. He studies the politics of science, technology, and global governance, with a focus on intellectual property rights and international trade. Sojun received a B.A. from Korea University with honors and an M.A. and a Ph.D. from Princeton University under the Fulbright Scholarship. Before joining MIT, he was a graduate affiliate at the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance at Princeton University and a Global Political Economy Project pre-doctoral fellow at the Mortara Center for International Studies at Georgetown University.This seminar will be held in the Pye Room (E40-496). Lunch will be available. Please RSVP here.Contact Kate Danahy at kdanahy@mit.edu with any questions.This event is part of the CIS Global Research & Policy Seminar Series. Join our mailing list here to learn about upcoming seminars in the series.