Signal International AI ethics norms institutionalised by UNESCO, the OECD and the EU

Summary

The digital-humanism overview documents how human-centred AI norms have moved into formal institutions. UNESCO adopted its Recommendation on the Ethics of AI in 2021, setting principles for human dignity and rights, environmental protection, diversity and inclusion and peaceful, just societies. The EU's AI Act, described as the world's first comprehensive AI law, introduced a risk-based regime that turns transparency, explainability, safety and accountability for high-risk systems into legal duties. The OECD Principles for Trustworthy AI, adopted in 2019 and revised in 2024, set inclusive growth, human rights and democratic values, transparency, security and accountability as core values. The survey reads these steps as evidence that AI ethics and human-centred AI rules have entered a stage of full institutionalisation.