---
id: "framework-global-ai-strategy"
type: "framework"
source_timestamps: ["§ How to Develop a Country-Level AI Strategy"]
tags: ["strategic-planning", "execution", "localization"]
related: ["concept-localized-ai-execution", "action-audit-cultural-bias", "action-scout-locations-by-need", "concept-cultural-algorithmic-bias", "action-partner-local-startups", "action-include-anthropologists"]
steps: ["Look for locations that meet a specific need.", "Pay attention to cultural norms.", "Plan for localized execution.", "Think about the legal and cultural landscape."]
speakers: ["Yasuhiro Yamakawa", "Thomas H. Davenport"]
sources: ["futures"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-futures"
originDay: 2
articleStem: "hbr-cl-94-ai-strategy-beyond-us-china"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2025/12/your-ai-strategy-needs-to-expand-beyond-the-u-s-and-china"
sourceTitle: "Your AI Strategy Needs to Expand Beyond the U.S. and China"
---
# Global AI Strategy Development Process

A **four-step process** for multinational executives to craft and execute an AI strategy that expands beyond a centralized, one-size-fits-all approach. It emphasizes matching specific corporate needs with national capabilities (from the [[framework-national-ai-capability]]) and deeply localizing the resulting products.

1. **Look for locations that meet a specific need** — match technical requirements to national strengths (e.g., Japan for robotics, France for energy, India for talent). → Operationalized in [[action-scout-locations-by-need]].
2. **Pay attention to cultural norms** — understand how local values define 'competence' or 'efficiency' in AI (empathy vs. speed). → Grounded in [[concept-cultural-algorithmic-bias]]; audited via [[action-audit-cultural-bias]].
3. **Plan for localized execution** — adapt to local infrastructural realities (connectivity, languages) and compliance thresholds. → Detailed in [[concept-localized-ai-execution]].
4. **Think about the legal and cultural landscape** — customize logic, ethics, and UX; partner with local entities; and build cross-disciplinary teams to vet AI against local standards. → See [[action-partner-local-startups]] and [[action-include-anthropologists]].

**Enrichment note:** The process aligns with *Value Sensitive Design* (incorporating human values into technology design) and responsible-AI guidance. A pragmatic architecture for step 3–4 is a global base model + regional/country adapters + customer-specific fine-tunes, which balances economies of scale against cultural fit.