ISO/TC 260 on Human Resource Management is currently looking at preparing an international standard on ‘Guidance for risk management and the ethical use and adoption of technology’. The aim is to propose measures to mitigate the human capital risks and provide guidance for the use and adoption of technology for HR processes / practices and job roles. The ETUC is opposing the proposed work as the development of such a standard raises a number of concerns.
In Europe, the European Commission has already mandated the development of standards to support the EU AI Act by CEN-CENELEC JTC 21, which has started preparing deliverables with requirements inter alia on a risk management system, data and data governance, and trustworthiness.
The ETUC therefore stresses that initiating a project in ISO/TC 260 addressing similar requirements would not only clearly overlap with the work carried out in Europe, but it would also risk setting a lower level of requirements. Standards developed in ISO/TC 260 are not required to align with the EU AI Act, nor support EU values and principles. Should this standard on AI be transposed in Europe, it risks falling short of supporting European policy objectives for AI, and more specifically in protection of fundamental rights. Moreover, it is worth noting that there is already a significant number of standards on AI being developed at the international level, specifically in the ISO/IEC JTC 1/ SC 42 ‘Artificial Intelligence’ created in 2018.
