Beyond the Binary in AI Governance: Navigating the Mirror Maze
Author: Published: 2026-10-27 21:50:16 Source: Global Center for AI Innovation Governance+ Save this article
Artificial intelligence is increasingly integrated into the processes by which humans acquire knowledge and engage in thinking. How to fully harness the potential of AI technology while preserving human agency and the capacity for independent thought, and how to effectively address the security and ethical challenges this brings, have become important issues in AI governance.
On the afternoon of October 20, 2026, the Global Center for AI Innovation Governance specially invited Moona Ederveen-Schneider, a lecturer at the University of Cambridge and founder of the consulting firm Resilia Connect, to give an expert lecture titled "Beyond the Binary in AI Governance: Navigating the Mirror Maze." The lecture was moderated by Yao Xu, Secretary-General of the Global Center for AI Innovation Governance and Associate Researcher at the Fudan Development Institute.
Moona Ederveen-Schneider gives the keynote lecture
At the start of the lecture, Moona Ederveen-Schneider used three images—"the mirror of AI," "the shadow of AI," and "the mirror maze"—as entry points to explore different perspectives from which people understand artificial intelligence. She said that viewing AI simply as a passive tool, or assuming it has subjective experience merely because it displays human-like characteristics, may both limit people's understanding of the technology. She therefore proposed the functional concept of an "AI mind" to describe AI's ability to integrate knowledge accumulated by humanity, establish cross-domain connections, and participate in dialogue. At the same time, she emphasized that this concept does not imply that AI has consciousness or subjective experience.
Focusing on human-machine collaboration, she used "the shadow of AI" to describe the process by which humans and AI jointly form cognitive outcomes through continuous dialogue, questioning, and correction. She believes that AI's information integration capabilities can help users examine problems from different angles, but users still need to actively judge and verify its outputs, avoiding handing over the thinking process too much to the technology.
Photo of the lecture
She further drew on the plot in Peter Pan in which the shadow detaches from its owner and is later sewn back on, warning that over-reliance on AI may lead to cognitive inertia and bias. She believes that AI governance should not only prevent risks through measures such as audits, safety guardrails, red-team testing, and human oversight, but should also adhere to a people-centered philosophy, promoting AI's positive role in education, caregiving, and knowledge dissemination so that more people can equitably share the benefits of technological progress.
During the discussion session, guests and audience members discussed topics including AI governance in the Global South, technological sovereignty, human-machine collaboration, and education.
Moona Ederveen-Schneider and Center Secretary-General Yao Xu exchange with the audience
In response to the limitations that may arise from AI technology being developed mainly by a small number of countries and companies, audience members noted that relevant models may struggle to fully understand the cultural backgrounds and social contexts of different regions. This issue further extended the discussion to topics such as technological sovereignty, model accessibility, and localization adaptation. Moona believes that high-quality human-machine interaction is inseparable from users' critical questioning and sustained participation, and that as AI continues to develop, humans should still retain the leading role in the application of technology.
Audience members ask questions during the discussion
At the same time, audience members also raised questions about the complex security challenges brought by the rapid development of AI and the paths for governing them. Moona said that AI safety issues involve multiple dimensions, including technological development, social impact, and human values, and are difficult to resolve through a single measure or simple solution. Faced with the uncertainty brought by the continuous evolution of technological capabilities, governance needs not only to focus on identifying and preventing specific risks, but also to seek understanding and consensus among different actors, different social contexts, and diverse value demands. She emphasized that continuous dialogue should be used to enhance mutual understanding among different groups, and that deepened cooperation should be used to explore possible paths for jointly addressing risks, creating a more open and inclusive collaborative environment for AI governance.
Finally, the lecture concluded amid discussion and exchange.
Moona Ederveen-Schneider poses for a group photo with audience members
Original link:https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/-Iseg5UZQXibXtx401vLcQ?scene=25&sessionid=#wechat_redirect
- Home
- About FDDI Introduction Past Directors Leadership Board of Directors Strategic Partners Contact Us Join Us
- Team International Advisors Senior Advisors Full-time Researchers Visiting Professors/Researchers Distinguished Researchers Visiting Scholars Postdoctoral Team Operations Team
- Research Research Areas Affiliated Institutions Supporting Institutions Research Outputs FDDI Perspectives FDDI Observations Fudan Think Tank Overseas Diaries
- Forums University Think Tank Forum Shanghai Forum Sino-German Leibniz Forum Think Tank Ideas Exchange
- News & Events News Media Events Video Resources Notices and Announcements Upcoming Events
Official Weibo of the Fudan Development Institute
Official WeChat of the Fudan Development Institute
Copyright©2007 Fudan Development Institute. All rights reserved. Filing/Operating License No.: Shanghai ICP No. 05006147
Address: Think Tank Building, No. 220 Handan Road, Shanghai Postcode: 200433 Tel: 86-21-55670203 Fax: 86-21-55670203
Email: fdifudan@fudan.edu.cn