China's generative AI rules took effect on Aug. 15, 2023, and Baidu opened Ernie Bot to the public 16 days later, according to the new book *From Lab to Life: How AI Works in China* by Collin Hogue-Spears, published today by Gatekeeper Press. The book credits the speed to years of preparation, arguing that compliance ran through the release path before the product reached users. Drawing on Chinese regulatory texts, corporate filings, peer-reviewed papers, official statistics, and research, the book contends that China built the world's first governed AI ecosystem, where regulatory filings, pre-launch approvals, compliance audits, procurement access, and product distribution operate as a single market layer. It traces 15 years of Chinese AI development, from Baidu's early machine learning systems to Ernie Bot and DeepSeek. Hogue-Spears said the compliance layer decides which products can ship, which buyers can adopt them, and which companies gain distribution. Kirkus Reviews calls the book "a nuanced, tech-savvy analysis of an often misunderstood yet globally dominant AI system." BlueInk Review awarded it a starred review, and Foreword Clarion Reviews rates it 4 out of 5 stars. The book is on sale in hardcover, paperback, and ebook, with print editions at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookshop.org.