Overview
ISO/IEC TR 24368:2022 - Information technology - Artificial intelligence - Overview of ethical and societal concerns - is a Technical Report from ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 42 that provides a high‑level, non‑prescriptive overview of AI ethics, ethical frameworks, and societal concerns. The report is intended for technologists, regulators, interest groups and the public, and summarizes principles, processes and methods useful for aligning AI design, development and deployment with ethical and societal expectations. It explicitly does not advocate a specific value system and includes an overview of related international standards.
Key topics (guidance, not prescriptive requirements)
The document organizes and explains core themes and practical considerations for ethical AI. Major topics include:
- Ethical frameworks (virtue ethics, utilitarianism, deontology) and their relevance to AI decision‑making
- Human rights practices and international human‑rights considerations for AI systems
- Themes and principles such as:
- Accountability
- Fairness and non‑discrimination
- Transparency and explainability
- Privacy
- Safety and security
- Human control of technology
- Professional responsibility
- Human‑centred design
- Respect for rule of law and international norms
- Environmental sustainability and labour practices
- Practical practices and processes: aligning organizational processes to AI principles, defining prohibited applications, ethics review workflows, training in AI ethics, and impact assessment approaches
- Use‑case examples and annexes to illustrate application of principles in real contexts
Note: ISO/IEC TR 24368:2022 is a Technical Report offering guidance and references (for example, it cites ISO/IEC 22989 on AI concepts and terminology) rather than mandatory technical requirements.
Practical applications
Organizations can use this report to:
- Establish or refine AI governance and ethical review processes
- Develop organizational AI principles, policies and training programs
- Guide risk‑based impact assessments for privacy, fairness, safety and security
- Inform procurement, product design and deployment choices to reduce societal harms
- Support regulators and policy makers with common terminology and a map of ethical concerns
Who should use this standard
- AI developers, data scientists and system architects
- Corporate governance, compliance and legal teams
- Public sector regulators, standards bodies and policy makers
- Civil society groups and multidisciplinary ethics committees
Related standards
- Normative reference in the report: ISO/IEC 22989 (AI concepts and terminology)
- The report also maps to broader ISO/IEC work by JTC 1/SC 42 on AI governance and trustworthy AI.
Keywords: ISO/IEC TR 24368:2022, AI ethics, ethical and societal concerns, AI standards, transparency, accountability, fairness, AI governance, human‑centred design.