Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
United Nations · Guideline · UNESCO
Our summary
UNESCO's member nations established ethical principles and values to guide the responsible development and deployment of artificial intelligence systems. The recommendation emphasizes that AI technologies must respect human rights, promote dignity, ensure fairness, and consider environmental sustainability. It provides concrete policy actions across multiple areas to help countries implement these ethical commitments in practice.
Written by the Index in our own words. It is not legal advice; the official text is the authority.
Inside this policy
Every section of this policy in order. Our notes summarise each one in plain language and do not quote the official text, which is the authority.
Drafted by the Index An automated summary of the official text, not yet reviewed by a person.Reviewed Checked by a person against the official text.
6 sections
Jump to a chapter
Core values
1 section
The Recommendation rests on four foundational values: protecting human dignity and human rights; creating fair, peaceful and connected societies; promoting diversity and inclusion; and safeguarding environmental and ecosystem wellbeing. These values aim to ensure artificial intelligence systems serve humanity, individuals, communities and nature.
Global AI Ethics and Governance Observatory
The Observatory functions as a global platform for policymakers, regulators, academics, industry and civil society to address pressing AI challenges. It provides information about how prepared countries are to implement AI ethically and responsibly.
Core principles: A human rights approach to AI
Ten principles guide AI development, deployment and governance from a human rights perspective: proportionality and preventing harm through risk assessment; safety and security by addressing risks and vulnerabilities; privacy and data protection throughout AI lifecycles; inclusive multi-stakeholder participation respecting national sovereignty; auditable systems with oversight and accountability; transparency and explainability suited to context; human control over ultimate responsibility; assessment against sustainability goals; public education and digital literacy; and fair, non-discriminatory treatment ensuring benefits reach all.
Areas of policy action
Key policy areas translate the Recommendation's values and principles into concrete actions. These areas help societies manage known and unknown impacts of AI on people, communities and nature, providing a framework to determine whether to adopt or reject specific AI technologies.
Resources
1 section
This section lists available documents including the 2022 Recommendation itself in multiple languages and the 2021 key facts document, available through UNESCO.
Controls
What this policy requires, forbids, grants or penalises, one control at a time and in our own words. Each control links to the official text, which is the authority. This is not legal advice.
Drafted by the Index Drafted automatically from the official text, not yet reviewed by a person.Reviewed Checked by a person against the official text.
Themes covered 0 of 35
Choose a theme to see only its controls. About the themes
Risk and scope 0 of 4
- Risk classification, not covered
- Prohibited practices, not covered
- Risk management system, not covered
- Impact assessment, not covered
Data and privacy 0 of 4
- Data governance and quality, not covered
- Data subject rights and consent, not covered
- Cross-border data transfer, not covered
- Copyright and training data, not covered
Transparency and records 0 of 4
- Transparency and disclosure to users, not covered
- Labelling of synthetic content, not covered
- Technical documentation, not covered
- Record keeping and logging, not covered
Technical safeguards 0 of 4
- Human oversight, not covered
- Accuracy, robustness and cybersecurity, not covered
- Bias and non-discrimination, not covered
- Testing and evaluation, not covered
Assurance and lifecycle 0 of 4
- Conformity assessment and certification, not covered
- Registration and notification, not covered
- Incident and breach reporting, not covered
- Post-market monitoring and corrective action, not covered
Rights and protected groups 0 of 4
- Automated decision-making rights, not covered
- Children and vulnerable groups, not covered
- Biometric identification and surveillance, not covered
- Whistleblowing, complaints and redress, not covered
Roles and organisation 0 of 6
- Supply chain and provider-deployer duties, not covered
- General purpose and foundation models, not covered
- Accountability and governance roles, not covered
- Training and AI literacy, not covered
- Public sector use and procurement, not covered
- Innovation support and sandboxes, not covered
Enforcement and sectors 0 of 5
- Enforcement, penalties and regulators, not covered
- Sector rules: health, not covered
- Sector rules: finance and insurance, not covered
- Sector rules: employment, not covered
- Sector rules: education, not covered
The full list of controls could not be loaded, so only the first 0 are shown.
Change history
No changes recorded since we began monitoring this policy.