ISO/IEC 38507:2022

INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC
STANDARD 38507
First edition
2022-04
Information technology — Governance
of IT — Governance implications of
the use of artificial intelligence by
organizations
Technologies de l'Information — Gouvernance des technologies de
l'information — Implications de gouvernance de l'utilisation par des
organisations de l'intelligence artificielle
Reference number
© ISO/IEC 2022
© ISO/IEC 2022
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© ISO/IEC 2022 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
3.1 Terms related to AI . 2
3.2 Terms related to governance . 2
4 Governance implications of the organizational use of AI . 2
4.1 General . 2
4.2 Maintaining governance when introducing AI . 3
4.3 Maintaining accountability when introducing AI . 4
5 Overview of AI and AI systems . .6
5.1 General . 6
5.2 How AI systems differ from other information technologies . 6
5.2.1 Decision automation . 6
5.2.2 Data-driven problem-solving . 7
5.2.3 Adaptive systems . 7
5.3 AI ecosystem . 8
5.4 Benefits of the use of AI . 9
5.5 Constraints on the use of AI . 10
6 Policies to address use of AI .11
6.1 General . 11
6.2 Governance oversight of AI .12
6.3 Governance of decision-making . 13
6.4 Governance of data use . 14
6.5 Culture and values . 15
6.6 Compliance . 16
6.6.1 Compliance obligations . 16
6.6.2 Compliance management . 17
6.7 Risk . 17
6.7.1 Risk appetite and management . 17
6.7.2 Risk management . 18
6.7.3 Objectives . 19
6.7.4 Sources of risk .20
6.7.5 Controls . 21
Annex A (normative) Governance and organizational decision-making .23
Bibliography .27
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© ISO/IEC 2022 – All rights reserved

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are
members of ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical
committees established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical
activity. ISO and IEC technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the
work.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance
are described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria
needed for the different types of document should be noted. This document was drafted in
accordance with the editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives or
www.iec.ch/members_experts/refdocs).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject
of patent rights. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent
rights. Details of any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the
Introduction and/or on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents) or the IEC
list of patent declarations received (see patents.iec.ch).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to
the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see
www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html. In the IEC, see www.iec.ch/understanding-standards.
This document was prepared jointly by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology,
Subcommittees SC40, IT service management and IT governance and SC 42, Artificial intelligence.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards
body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html and
www.iec.ch/national-committees.
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© ISO/IEC 2022 – All rights reserved

Introduction
The objective of this document is to provide guidance for the governing body of an organization that is
using, or is considering the use of, artificial intelligence (AI).
This document provides guidance on the role of a governing body with regard to the use of AI within
their organization and encourages organizations to use appropriate standards to underpin their
governance of the use of AI.
This document addresses the nature and mechanisms of AI to the extent necessary to understand the
governance implications of their use: what are the additional opportunities, risks and responsibilities
that the use of AI brings? The emphasis is on governance (which is done by humans) of the organization’s
use of AI and not on the technologies making up any AI system. However, such governance requires an
understanding of the implications of the technologies.
Artificial intelligence (AI)
AI embraces a family of technologies that bring together computing power, scalability, networking,
connected devices and interfaces, together with vast amounts of data. Reference to ‘AI’ in this document
is intended to be understood to refer to a whole family of technologies and methods, and not to any
1)
specific technology, method or application. For AI concepts and terminology, see ISO/IEC 22989:— .
Use of AI
“Use of AI” is defined in this document in the broadest sense as developing or applying an AI system
through any part of its life cycle to fulfil objectives and create value for the organization. This includes
relationships with any party providing or using such systems.
Governance implications of the use of AI
The scope of this document is concerned with the implications for an organization of the use of AI. As
with any powerful tool, the use of AI brings new risks and responsibilities that should be addressed
by organizations that use it. AI is not inherently ‘good’ or ‘evil’, ‘fair’ or ‘biased’, ‘ethical’ or ‘unethical’
although its use can be or can seem to be so.
The organization’s purpose, ethics and other guidelines are reflected, either formally or informally, in
its policies. This document examines both governance and organizational policies and their application
and provides guidance to adapt these for the use of AI. The operational aspects of the policies are
implemented through management. This document refers to other standards for details on related
topics including social responsibility, trustworthiness (such as risk management, management of bias,
and quality) and compliance management.
1) Under preparation. Stage at the time of publication: ISO/IEC FDIS 22989:2022.
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© ISO/IEC 2022 – All rights reserved

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/IEC 38507:2022(E)
Information technology — Governance of IT — Governance
implications of the use of artificial intelligence by
organizations
1 Scope
This document provides guidance for members of the governing body of an organization to enable and
govern the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), in order to ensure its effective, efficient and acceptable use
within the organization.
This document also provides guidance to a wider community, including:
— executive managers;
— external businesses or technical specialists, such as legal or accounting specialists, retail or
industrial associations, or professional bodies;
— public authorities and policymakers;
— internal and external service providers (including consultants);
— assessors and auditors.
This document is applicable to the governance of current and future uses of AI as well as the implications
of such use for the organization itself.
This document is applicable to any organization, including public and private companies, government
entities and not-for-profit organizations. This document is applicable to an organization of any size
irrespective of their dependence on data or information technologies.
...