Preamble

On the proposal of the Digital Policy Committee:

Section 1: Principles for responsible stewardship of trustworthy AI

Section 2: National policies and international co-operation for trustworthy AI

OECD AI Principles

As amended on 3 May 2024

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Preamble

428 words

THE COUNCIL,

HAVING REGARD to Article 5 b) of the Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development of 14 December 1960;

HAVING REGARD to standards developed by the OECD in the areas of privacy, digital security, consumer protection and responsible business conduct;

HAVING REGARD to the Sustainable Development Goals set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (A/RES/70/1) as well as the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

HAVING REGARD to the important work being carried out on artificial intelligence (hereafter, “AI”) in other international governmental and non-governmental fora;

RECOGNISING that AI has pervasive, far-reaching and global implications that are transforming societies, economic sectors and the world of work, and are likely to increasingly do so in the future;

RECOGNISING that AI has the potential to improve the welfare and well-being of people, to contribute to positive sustainable global economic activity, to increase innovation and productivity, and to help respond to key global challenges;

RECOGNISING that, at the same time, these transformations may have disparate effects within, and between societies and economies, notably regarding economic shifts, competition, transitions in the labour market, inequalities, and implications for democracy and human rights, privacy and data protection, and digital security;

RECOGNISING that trust is a key enabler of digital transformation; that, although the nature of future AI applications and their implications may be hard to foresee, the trustworthiness of AI systems is a key factor for the diffusion and adoption of AI; and that a well-informed whole-of-society public debate is necessary for capturing the beneficial potential of the technology, while limiting the risks associated with it;

UNDERLINING that certain existing national and international legal, regulatory and policy frameworks already have relevance to AI, including those related to human rights, consumer and personal data protection, intellectual property rights, responsible business conduct, and competition, while noting that the appropriateness of some frameworks may need to be assessed and new approaches developed;

RECOGNISING that given the rapid development and implementation of AI, there is a need for a stable policy environment that promotes a human-centric approach to trustworthy AI, that fosters research, preserves economic incentives to innovate, and that applies to all stakeholders according to their role and the context;

CONSIDERING that embracing the opportunities offered, and addressing the challenges raised, by AI applications, and empowering stakeholders to engage is essential to fostering adoption of trustworthy AI in society, and to turning AI trustworthiness into a competitive parameter in the global marketplace.

On the proposal of the Digital Policy Committee:

512 words

I. AGREES that for the purpose of this Recommendation the following terms should be understood as follows:

‒ AI system: An AI system is a machine-based system that, for explicit or implicit objectives, infers, from the input it receives, how to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations, or decisions that can influence physical or virtual environments. Different AI systems vary in their levels of autonomy and adaptiveness after deployment.

‒ AI system lifecycle: An AI system lifecycle typically involves several phases that include to: plan and design; collect and process data; build model(s) and/or adapt existing model(s) to specific tasks; test, evaluate, verify and validate; make available for use/deploy; operate and monitor; and retire/decommission. These phases often take place in an iterative manner and are not necessarily sequential. The decision to retire an AI system from operation may occur at any point during the operation and monitoring phase.

‒ AI actors: AI actors are those who play an active role in the AI system lifecycle, including organisations and individuals that deploy or operate AI.

‒ AI knowledge: AI knowledge refers to the skills and resources, such as data, code, algorithms, models, research, know-how, training programmes, governance, processes, and best practices required to understand and participate in the AI system lifecycle, including managing risks.

‒ Stakeholders: Stakeholders encompass all organisations and individuals involved in, or affected by, AI systems, directly or indirectly. AI actors are a subset of stakeholders.

II. RECOMMENDS that Members and non-Members adhering to this Recommendation (hereafter the “Adherents”) promote and implement the following principles for responsible stewardship of trustworthy AI, which are relevant to all stakeholders.

III. CALLS ON all AI actors to promote and implement, according to their respective roles, the following principles for responsible stewardship of trustworthy AI.

IV. UNDERLINES that the following principles are complementary and should be considered as a whole.

V. RECOMMENDS that Adherents implement the following recommendations, consistent with the principles in section 1, in their national policies and international co-operation, with special attention to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

VI. INVITES the Secretary-General and Adherents to disseminate this Recommendation.

VII. INVITES non-Adherents to take due account of, and adhere to, this Recommendation.

VIII. INSTRUCTS the Digital Policy Committee, through its Working Party on AI Governance, to:

a) continue its important work on artificial intelligence building on this Recommendation and taking into account work in other international fora, and to further develop the measurement framework for evidence-based AI policies;

b) develop and iterate further practical guidance on the implementation of this Recommendation to meet evolving developments and new policy priorities;

c) provide a forum for exchanging information on AI policy and activities including experience with the implementation of this Recommendation, and to foster multi-stakeholder and interdisciplinary dialogue to promote trust in and adoption of AI; and

d) report to Council, in consultation with other relevant committees, on the implementation, dissemination and continued relevance of this Recommendation no later than five years following its revision and at least every ten years thereafter.

Section 1: Principles for responsible stewardship of trustworthy AI

606 words

1.1. Inclusive growth, sustainable development and well-being

64 words

1.2. Respect for the rule of law, human rights and democratic values, including fairness and privacy

135 words

1.3. Transparency and explainability

127 words

1.4. Robustness, security and safety

98 words

1.5. Accountability

173 words

Section 2: National policies and international co-operation for trustworthy AI

583 words

2.1. Investing in AI research and development

102 words

2.2. Fostering an inclusive AI-enabling ecosystem

72 words

2.3. Shaping an enabling interoperable governance and policy environment for AI

122 words

2.4. Building human capacity and preparing for labour market transformation

151 words

2.5. International co-operation for trustworthy AI

125 words