Overview

This research investigates how “responsible behaviour” functions as an unfinished norm across space, AI, and cyber governance domains. Rather than treating responsible behaviour as a settled concept, it examines the governance gaps, ambiguities, and strategic dynamics that prevent its codification into operational frameworks.

The paper traces three dynamics — denial, displacement, and inoculation — in AI governance discourse, exploring how states and institutions invoke responsibility language while structurally deferring substantive governance commitments. It connects these patterns to broader questions of dual-use ambiguity, norm codification, and the architecture of emerging technology governance.

Key Questions

• —How does "responsible behaviour" function as a governance concept across different technology domains?
• —What dynamics of denial, displacement, and inoculation shape norm codification in AI governance?
• —How does dual-use ambiguity complicate the construction of responsible behaviour frameworks?
• —What structural features of emerging technology governance enable or constrain norm development?
• —How do cross-domain comparisons (space, AI, cyber) illuminate patterns in governance architecture?