https://techmonitor.ai/policy/ai-mostly-governed-by-soft-law-but-set-to-change

When it comes to binding legislation, artificial intelligence is still something of a Wild West. But in the place of statute, a patchwork of “soft” laws – ethical guidelines, principles, standards – have sprung up in recent years. Introduced by a variety of stakeholders from public to private, these are typically agreed to by companies on a voluntary basis. Could AI soft law inform regulatory efforts on the horizon?

A research team at Arizona State University compiled a database of 634 AI soft laws published between 2001 and 2019. They found that around 90% of programs were created between 2017 and 2019, indicating the boom in soft law instruments has been a fairly recent phenomenon.