Preliminary Results of a Global Database on the Soft Law Governance of Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

Soft law programs create substantive expectations that are not directly enforceable by government. All kinds of organizations apply soft law to regulate the development or use of methods and applications of artificial intelligence (AI), yet limited scholarship is devoted to studying their prevalence. This article describes the methodology and preliminary results of a project that compiled a global database of AI soft law programs. It uncovers information on the type of organizations that create them, distinguishes how they are enforced, their origin and jurisdiction, influence, and the themes of their text. As developers and users of soft law, stakeholders (private sector, governments, and civil society) face a dearth of information regarding their option space on how to govern AI. The objective of this work is to make available an analysis and compilation of programs that facilitates the creation of effective soft law programs.

Keywords: Soft law, governance of AI, alternative forms of regulating emerging technologies