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Law, standards & governance

AI management systems & standards

Also called: ISO/IEC 42001, governance framework

DEFINITION

Voluntary standards give organisations a repeatable way to govern AI. ISO/IEC 42001 defines an AI management system; the NIST AI Risk Management Framework offers a govern–map–measure–manage structure.

WHY IT MATTERS

Standards turn 'be responsible' into concrete, auditable practice, and increasingly underpin how regulators and buyers judge maturity. They're how a governance intent becomes a repeatable process.

COMMONLY CONFUSED WITH

The law itself. Standards are voluntary and support compliance, but conforming to a standard is not the same as meeting a legal obligation.

SOURCES

First-pass citations, limited to primary sources; a reviewer will broaden and verify these before this entry leaves draft.