The National Guidelines for AI Ethics
South Korea · Guideline · Presidential Committee on the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Our summary
Comprehensive ethical standards for human-centered artificial intelligence development and deployment across society. The guidelines establish three foundational principles - respect for human dignity, societal common good, and proper technology use - alongside ten key requirements covering rights protection, privacy, diversity, harm prevention, public benefit, solidarity, data governance, accountability, safety and transparency. These standards apply to all members of society involved in AI systems throughout their lifecycle.
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 Our notes summarise each one in plain language and do not quote the official text, which is the authority.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.
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The National Guidelines for AI Ethics
This section introduces the National Guidelines for AI Ethics, which were endorsed in December 2020 by a government committee tasked with steering industrial advancement. The guidelines were created jointly by two national agencies responsible for science, information technology, and digital society development.
The National Guidelines for AI Ethics
These guidelines contain fundamental and inclusive standards that all members of society should follow when implementing human-focused artificial intelligence.
Basic and comprehensive standards that should be followed by all members of society to implement human-centered AI
All members of society must follow ten key requirements when developing and using AI systems: protecting human rights and democratic values; safeguarding privacy throughout the AI lifecycle and minimizing misuse of personal data; ensuring diversity and accessibility for all, reducing bias based on personal characteristics, and guaranteeing equal benefits distribution; preventing both direct and indirect harm to humans and managing associated risks; pursuing public good and societal benefits through diverse education; maintaining solidarity among groups including future generations and providing stakeholders with equitable participation; ensuring data is used only for its intended purpose with careful management of data quality and bias; and clearly defining responsibilities among designers, developers, service providers, and users. Safety requires efforts throughout development and utilization to mitigate potential risks and maintain secure operation, including providing users with capabilities to manage the system when errors or violations occur. Transparency requires efforts to make AI systems explainable and clear according to their specific use contexts while balancing other principles, and AI providers must notify users beforehand of the system's functions and any potential risks during use.
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 11 of 35
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Risk and scope 2 of 4
- Risk classification, not covered
- Impact assessment, not covered
Data and privacy 2 of 4
- Cross-border data transfer, not covered
- Copyright and training data, not covered
Transparency and records 1 of 4
- Labelling of synthetic content, not covered
- Technical documentation, not covered
- Record keeping and logging, not covered
Technical safeguards 1 of 4
- Human oversight, not covered
- Accuracy, robustness and cybersecurity, 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 1 of 4
- Automated decision-making rights, not covered
- Biometric identification and surveillance, not covered
- Whistleblowing, complaints and redress, not covered
Roles and organisation 4 of 6
- General purpose and foundation models, 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 8 are shown.
Basic and comprehensive standards that should be followed by all members of society to implement human-centered AI 8 controls
- ObligationApplies to: AnyoneDrafted by the Index
Any member of society should develop and use AI in ways that respect human rights, dignity and democratic values, and should not violate human rights and freedoms.
- ObligationApplies to: AnyoneDrafted by the Index
Any member of society should protect individuals' privacy throughout all stages of AI development and use, and should minimize misuse and abuse of personal information.
- ObligationApplies to: AnyoneDrafted by the Index
Any member of society should ensure that AI represents and serves all users fairly, should minimize bias and discrimination based on personal characteristics, and should guarantee disadvantaged and vulnerable people access to AI technologies and equitable benefit distribution.
- ObligationApplies to: AnyoneDrafted by the Index
Any member of society should not use AI to cause harm to people and should develop measures to identify and address risks and negative consequences from AI.
- ObligationApplies to: AnyoneDrafted by the Index
Any member of society should use AI for public good and the common benefit of humanity, should create positive social change through AI, and should implement diverse education programs to maximize AI benefits and minimize negative impacts.
- ObligationApplies to: AnyoneDrafted by the Index
Any member of society should use AI to promote solidarity between groups, should provide stakeholders with opportunities to participate in AI decisions, and should cooperate internationally on AI matters.
- ObligationApplies to: AnyoneDrafted by the Index
Any member of society should manage data responsibly by restricting use to stated purposes, should minimize data bias, and should address data quality and risk.
- ObligationApplies to: AnyoneDrafted by the Index
Any member of society should clarify responsibility for AI systems, should assign accountability by role, and should disclose AI use and potential concerns to users beforehand and explain AI system operations.
Change history
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