ISO/IEC 42001
Fast becoming the procurement passport for enterprise AI — buyers increasingly require 42001 certification, and regulators treat alignment as evidence of reasonable care. Harmonised EU standards under the AI Act will interlock with it.
What it is
The first certifiable AI management-system standard (the 'ISO 27001 of AI'): organizations implement risk-based AI governance, controls and continuous improvement, with third-party certification growing rapidly since 2024.
Who is affected
Fast becoming the procurement passport for enterprise AI — buyers increasingly require 42001 certification, and regulators treat alignment as evidence of reasonable care. Harmonised EU standards under the AI Act will interlock with it.
Key obligations
- Voluntary/certifiable: AI management system with risk controls, impact assessment, lifecycle governance
Recent signals
UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance launches in Geneva
The first universal-membership AI governance forum convenes, alongside the Independent International Scientific Panel established by the August 2025 GA resolution.
UN establishes Independent Scientific Panel and Global Dialogue on AI
The General Assembly creates the first universal AI governance mechanisms, implementing the Global Digital Compact.
Paris AI Action Summit pivots from safety to action
60+ states sign an inclusive-AI declaration; the US and UK decline, and the summit's framing marks the global deregulatory turn.
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- EUEU AI ActThe world's first comprehensive, risk-based AI law. It bans a set of unacceptable practices (social scoring, manipulative AI, most…