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Before embarking on a discussion of the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI), it is first necessary to define the subject matter regulated. Defining artificial intelligence is a difficult endeavour, and many definitions have been proposed over the years. Although more than 70 years have passed since it was adopted, the most convincing definition is still nonetheless that proposed by Turing; in any case, it is important to be mindful of the risk of anthropomorphising artificial intelligence, which may arise in particular from its very definition. Once we have established the subject matter regulated, we must ask ourselves whether lawmakers should pursue an approach that seeks to regulate artificial intelligence as a whole, or whether by contrast they should regulate applications of artificial intelligence in specific sectors or individual areas. The proposal for a regulation on artificial intelligence published on 21 April 2021 implements the former approach whilst also pursuing geopolitical goals. After providing an initial overview of the notion of artificial intelligence, this article investigates the geopolitical context to the proposal for a regulation, and then goes on to illustrate the regulatory model embraced by the proposal as well as related critical aspects.