The History and Purpose of ISO 42001

The AI Revolution Meets Regulation

Artificial intelligence is transforming industries at every level — from data analytics and automation to healthcare, finance, and education.

As these AI systems become more complex and integrated into critical business functions, the need for clear, consistent governance has become essential.

The growing influence of AI has introduced new challenges in risk management, ethics, and regulatory compliance. Organisations now face questions around accountability, transparency, and the safe, responsible use of AI technologies.

To address these challenges, the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) developed ISO/IEC 42001:2023 — the world’s first international management system standard dedicated to artificial intelligence management systems.

This standard provides a structured framework for managing AI effectively throughout its lifecycle, from development to deployment and ongoing monitoring.

Its goal is to ensure that organisations develop, operate, and improve AI systems responsibly, maintaining trust, fairness, and compliance across all stages of AI management.

In short, the purpose of ISO 42001 is to help organisations align innovation with governance — enabling them to adopt AI responsibly while meeting ethical, legal, and business objectives.

What Is ISO 42001?

ISO 42001—officially ISO/IEC 42001:2023—is an AI management system standard designed to help organisations manage AI risks effectively and align with global AI regulations.

Developed jointly by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), it provides a structured management system for how organisations create, use, and maintain AI technologies responsibly.

It follows the same principles as familiar standards like ISO 9001 (quality management) and ISO 27001 (information security)—but applies them to the unique context of artificial intelligence management systems (AIMS).

ISO 42001 covers:

• The AI system lifecycle – from concept to decommissioning
• AI risk management frameworks – to identify and mitigate AI-specific risks
• Ethical principles such as fairness, non-discrimination, and respect for privacy
• Continuous monitoring and continual improvement of AI management processes
• Stakeholder engagement and transparency in AI decision-making

In essence, ISO 42001 turns responsible AI governance from a concept into a repeatable, auditable process.

The Purpose of ISO 42001

The purpose of ISO 42001 is to provide an international standard for managing AI risks, ensuring that AI systems are trustworthy, accountable, and aligned with legal and ethical expectations.

Where previous frameworks like ISO 27001 focused on data protection, ISO 42001 extends governance into how AI uses that data.

It helps organisations:

• Establish a formal AI management system
• Embed ethical AI practices across teams
• Proactively manage AI risks such as bias, misuse, and lack of explainability
• Maintain compliance with legal and regulatory requirements like the EU AI Act
• Build public and customer trust in AI technologies

The standard also promotes the involvement of AI developers, compliance teams, and risk management professionals in key decisions—ensuring that governance isn’t just a policy, but a practice.

In short: ISO 42001 makes responsible AI measurable.

The Background of ISO 42001

The background of ISO 42001 begins with an uncomfortable truth: while the world was quick to write AI ethics principles, few knew how to implement them in practice.

By the late 2010s, AI had moved far beyond research labs. AI technologies were making critical decisions—in healthcare, banking, recruitment, and national security—yet few organisations had the tools or frameworks to ensure those systems were being used responsibly.

Governments, researchers, and business leaders all recognised the same issue: AI adoption was accelerating faster than governance could keep up.

Initiatives such as the OECD AI Principles, the EU AI Act, and UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence all provided guiding values like fairness, accountability, and transparency.
But they lacked something crucial: a certifiable management system that could prove those values were actually being applied.

That gap between ethical intention and operational implementation became the driving force behind ISO 42001’s development.

The Creation of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 42

To close that gap, the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) created a joint committee to tackle the challenge.

In 2017, they formed ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 42, a dedicated subcommittee responsible for developing international standards around artificial intelligence technologies, AI governance frameworks, and AI management systems.

SC 42 brought together global experts—from academia, government, and industry—to define what responsible AI governance should look like in practice.
Their goal was to create a structured framework that would:

• Support the responsible development and deployment of AI systems
• Define methods to identify and mitigate AI risks
• Enable continuous monitoring and risk assessment
• Align AI innovation with legal and regulatory requirements
• Offer implementation guidance for organisations of all sizes

Over several years, the committee conducted global consultations, analysed emerging AI governance frameworks, and ran pilot studies across multiple industries.

This work identified a consistent set of challenges: a lack of traceability, weak AI lifecycle management, and limited collaboration between AI developers, risk managers, and compliance teams.

To address these, SC 42 drafted a comprehensive management system model—mirroring successful ISO frameworks like ISO 9001 and ISO 27001—but tailored to AI-specific risks.

After years of research, consultation, and gap analysis, the result was published as ISO/IEC 42001:2023.

This became the first international standard dedicated to artificial intelligence management systems (AIMS)—offering a universal blueprint for responsible AI governance and AI risk management.

Where previous initiatives outlined “what” responsible AI should look like, ISO 42001 defined how to make it real.

The Origins of AI Governance

The origins of AI governance stretch back decades.

Long before ISO 42001, the idea of ethical AI was taking shape in academic and policy circles.

Early Ethical and Policy Foundations

• 2016: The Asilomar AI Principles introduced foundational concepts like safety, transparency, and human oversight.
• 2017: The OECD Principles on AI were published and later adopted by more than 40 countries, promoting fairness, accountability, and reliability.
• 2019: The IEEE’s Ethically Aligned Design initiative called for explicit consideration of human rights and social impact in AI development.
• 2021: The UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI became the first global normative framework for AI ethics.
• 2018–2023: The EU AI Act evolved into the world’s most comprehensive regulatory framework, introducing a risk-based classification system for AI use cases.

These milestones marked a global shift—from high-level ethics to structured governance.

However, while these initiatives defined ethical principles and policy goals, they didn’t explain how to build and audit systems that met those standards.

That’s the gap ISO 42001 fills.

By combining ethical, legal, and operational perspectives into a management system, ISO 42001 turned responsible AI into a certifiable discipline.

The Evolution of AI Standards

The evolution of AI standards mirrors how industries learned to manage complexity.
Before AI, we created frameworks to ensure quality (ISO 9001), security (ISO 27001), and privacy (ISO 27701).

Each one addressed a growing need for accountability. ISO 42001 is the next logical step—applying that same discipline to artificial intelligence systems.