New global standard ISO/IEC 42001 guides responsible use of AI

A new global standard, ISO/IEC 42001, has been rolled out to guide organisations on the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems. Developed by the International Organization for Standardization / International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) Joint Technical Committee (JTC) 1, the US has played a leading role in this advancement with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) serving as the secretariat. This standard provides a template for implementing, maintaining, and reinforcing an AI management system within any organisation size or nature, that deploys products or services employing AI.

While AI is garnering increasing recognition in sectors reliant on information technology, the associated risks necessitate careful governance strategies. The ISO/IEC 42001:2023 guides an AI Management System to deal with technology complexities, offering a framework to handle the risks and opportunities whilst promoting AI's responsible use. The standard features a 'Plan-Do-Check-Act' procedure for AI establishment, implementation, maintenance, and continual improvement, thereby offering enhanced quality, security, traceability, transparency, and AI applications reliability.

The ultimate ambition of the standard is to aid organisations in deriving maximum benefits from AI applications while ensuring that systems incorporating AI are developed, governed and utilised responsibly.

The standard was created through the collaboration of stakeholders representing various interests such as public and private sectors, regulators, technological experts, researchers, academia and others. The Subcommittee (SC) 42 consists of representatives from 63 countries, with a third of them hailing from developing nations. The collaboration ensured a balanced framework development atmosphere by including both users and developers of the technology.

The newly established standard, ISO/IEC 42001, can now be acquired through the ANSI webstore or via subscription. It is also available as a part of the AI standards package which includes ISO/IEC 42001, ISO/IEC 22989, and ISO/IEC 23894. This globally recognised standard represents a significant step toward responsible AI usage that ensures high operational quality, enhanced security and transparency, and minimises the potential risks involved.

"ISO/IEC 42001:2023 is a first-of-its-kind AI international standard that will enable certification, increase consumer confidence in AI systems, and enable broad responsible adoption of AI," said Wael William Diab, chair of SC 42.

"This novel approach takes the proven management systems approach and adapts it to AI. The standard is broadly applicable across a wide variety of application domains and will help unlock the societal benefits of AI while simultaneously addressing ethical and trustworthy concerns."

ISO/IEC 42001 is now available for purchase on the ANSI webstore or through subscription: ISO/IEC 42001, Information technology - Artificial intelligence - Management system. It can also be purchased as part of an AI standards package: ISO/IEC 42001 / ISO/IEC 22989 / ISO/IEC 23894 - Artificial Intelligence Package.