Using AI Responsibly: U.S. Leads Efforts to Develop ISO/IEC 42001, Artificial Intelligence Management System Standard

News provided by

American National Standards Institute

Dec 27, 2023, 14:06 ET

New Standard Now Available for Purchase via ANSI Webstore

NEW YORK, Dec. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A new international standard provides guidance for organizations of all kinds to use artificial intelligence (AI) systems responsibly: ISO/IEC 42001, Artificial intelligence – Management system, developed by the International Organization for Standardization / International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) Joint Technical Committee (JTC) 1, Information technology, Subcommittee (SC) 42, Artificial intelligence. The U.S. has a leading role in JTC 1, with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the U.S. member body to ISO, serving as secretariat.

While AI is gaining traction across all sectors that utilize information technology, it poses risks to organizations that necessitate careful governance mechanisms. ISO/IEC 42001:2023 guides an AI management system to address the complexities of the technology, providing a framework for managing the risks and opportunities while supporting the responsible use of AI. The standard specifies requirements and provides guidance for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving an AI management system within the context of any organization—regardless of size, type, and nature—that provides or uses products or services that utilize AI systems.

The standard centers on a "Plan-Do-Check-Act" approach of establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving AI; this system supports improved quality, security, traceability, transparency, and reliability of AI applications. Ultimately, the goal of the standard is to help organizations achieve the maximum benefits from AI, while reassuring stakeholders that systems that incorporate AI are being developed, governed, and used responsibly.

"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."

The standard was developed by stakeholders representing diverse interests, including representatives of the public and private sectors, regulators, technology experts, researchers, academia, and more. SC 42 is comprised of 63 countries, with more than one third from developing nations. Many members of SC 42 have stakeholders that will be predominately users of AI—contributing to a balanced standards developing environment that included both users and developers of the technology.

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.

About JTC 1 and SC 42

Now in its 36th year, ISO/IEC JTC 1 addresses the rapidly changing standardization requirements of the global information and communications technology (ICT) industry, speeding the developmental process and the wide deployment of relevant standards. The U.S plays a leading role in JTC 1, with ANSI, the U.S. member body to ISO, serving as secretariat.

Created in 2017, JTC 1 SC 42 is the first-of-its-kind international standards committee looking at the full AI IT ecosystem. The SC is responsible for 21 published ISO standards. Charged with serving as the focal point within ISO/IEC JTC 1 for AI standardization, SC 42 provides guidance to JTC 1 and ISO and IEC committees as they look to develop AI-related standards in their sector-specific application areas.

In 2023, JTC 1 SC 42 was named the winner of ISO's 2023 Lawrence D. Eicher Leadership Award (LDE) for its excellence in standards development. The award recognizes superior performance by one of the ISO standards development groups.

About ANSI

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance both the global competitiveness of U.S. business and the U.S. quality of life by promoting and facilitating voluntary consensus standards and conformity assessment systems, and safeguarding their integrity. Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations.

The Institute represents and serves the diverse interests of more than 270,000 companies and organizations and 30 million professionals worldwide. ANSI is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). For more information, visit www.ansi.org.

SOURCE American National Standards Institute