Standardization

What is the problem?

Standards describe requirements and characteristics for products, methods and services. When ethics and human rights are not taken into consideration for AI-related standards, there is a risk of serious negative implications for society, and a reduction of trust in AI. However, it is challenging to reach  worldwide agreement on what ethical AI is, as stakeholders around the world have a different idea of ethical 

Who should act?

– Standardisation committees

– Ethicists, innovators and researchers

The Recommendation

Standardization committees It is important that  ethicists, innovators and researchers participate in standardization. Therefore, standardisation committees should invite ethicists, innovators and researchers.

Ethicists, innovators and researchers should engage with standardization committees. Their research can be a valuable addition to standards. Contributing to standardization is a recognized way to ensure that research has a lasting societal impact.  

Key Considerations

There are numerous ethics guidelines on AI that standardization committees could draw on, such as:

SHERPA Contribution

SHERPA has produced a set of guidelines for operationalization of ethics by design for developers and for users of smart information systems that can inform standardization.

SHERPA has contributed to the standard on health and wellness apps that includes an annex on ethics.

SHERPA members are represented on national mirror committees of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 42 Artificial intelligence.