AI development has the potential to transform society in ways comparable to the industrial revolution or the advent of the internet. AI represents not merely an incremental advance but a transformative technology with the capacity to enhance productivity, create economic value, and solve complex challenges across a variety of sectors such as healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, and public administration. To harness this positive potential, the OECD sets out a balanced approach to responsible AI that enhances the opportunities of AI while addressing risks of adverse impacts.
Following the May 2024 adoption of the revised Recommendation of the Council on Artificial Intelligence (“AI Principles”), the OECD Council meeting at Ministerial level instructed the Digital Policy Committee (“DPC”) through its Working Party on AI Governance (“AIGO”) to “continue its important work on artificial intelligence building on this Recommendation” and “to develop and iterate further practical guidance on the implementation of this Recommendation.” The AI Principles recognise the positive potential of AI to support beneficial outcomes for people and the planet. The AI Principles promote an ecosystem for reliable AI systems by establishing principles and policy guidelines that foster innovation while addressing risks.
Further, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct (“MNE Guidelines”), updated in 2023, explicitly note that “technological innovation [has] driven productivity in all sectors, as well as the ability of enterprises to conduct due diligence and contribute to sustainable development”. The MNE Guidelines recognise the importance of realising “the economy-wide effects of technological progress, including productivity growth and job creation”. The MNE Guidelines also call on enterprises to carry out risk-based RBC due diligence with respect to actual and potential adverse impacts related to science, technology and innovation.
This guidance is intended to assist enterprises in implementing both the MNE Guidelines and the AI Principles. It serves as a tool for multinational enterprises engaged in the AI system value chain – those supplying inputs for AI development, actively participating in the AI system lifecycle, or utilizing AI systems in their operations, products, and services across all sectors.
This project is jointly overseen by the DPC through AIGO and the Investment Committee (“IC”) through the Working Party on Responsible Business Conduct (“WPRBC”). This guidance is based on the work of the OECD.AI Expert Group on Risk & Accountability. The Expert Group is made up of over 100 representatives from government, civil society, workers’ representatives, and large and small enterprises from across the AI supply chain. This guidance also benefitted significantly from review and feedback from the Civil Society Information Society Advisory (“CSISAC”), OECD Watch, the Trade Union Advisory Committee (“TUAC”) and Business at OECD (“BIAC”).