2024 · Defines the term
World Bank
Global Trends in AI Governance: Evolving Country Approaches
“In this report, the term ‘governance’ refers to the broader framework of laws, rules, practices, and processes used to ensure AI technologies are developed and used responsibly.”
In short: The laws, rules, practices and processes that ensure AI is developed and used responsibly.
What we notice: A development lender defines governance broadly, across laws, rules and practices.
Note: Defines “governance” for the purposes of one report.
What it governs, towards what, when, at what level
- What is governed
- The development and use of AI technologies
- Towards what
- Responsible development and use
- Timing and adaptation
- Yes: governance as an iterative, agile process
- Level
- National, compared across countries
Inspect evidence · 1 passage
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Global Trends in AI Governance: Evolving Country Approaches (opens in a new tab)Section 1.1, footnote 7
For the report’s purposes, governance means the broader framework of laws, rules, practices and processes used to ensure AI is developed and used responsibly. Elsewhere it describes governance as an iterative, agile process.
Scope note: Read from the World Bank’s plain-text rendering of the report; page markers are approximate.
Passage checked 2026-10-19 · world-bank-governance-definition
2024 · Explains without defining
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
ASEAN Guide on AI Governance and Ethics
What it says: Internal structures and practices built into AI by design and reviewed periodically.
What we notice: Regional guidance treats governance as internal structure built into AI by design and reviewed periodically.
What it governs, towards what, when, at what level
- What is governed
- Organisations’ design, development and deployment of AI
- Towards what
- Responsible use of AI by organisations and governments
- Timing and adaptation
- Yes: periodic review; a living document
- Level
- Regional guidance with an organisational focus
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ASEAN Guide on AI Governance and Ethics (opens in a new tab)Sections C.1 and C.3
Treats AI governance as organisational structures and practices: internal governance structures should be reviewed periodically as AI evolves, and governance should be built into AI systems by design.
Scope note: Voluntary regional guidance aimed mainly at organisations.
Passage checked 2026-10-19 · asean-governance-framing
March 2024 · Uses the term, no definition
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
OECD Input to the UN High-Level Advisory Body on AI
What it says: The OECD suggested the UN advisory body state what “AI governance” refers to. The final report did not define it.
What we notice: A sign of the gap: one major body asked another to say what AI governance means.
Note: Included because it shows the gap this page documents.
What it governs, towards what, when, at what level
- What is governed
- Not applicable
- Towards what
- Precision about scope
- Timing and adaptation
- Not applicable
- Level
- International
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April 2024 · Defines the term
Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología, Conocimiento e Innovación, Chile
Política Nacional de Inteligencia Artificial (Actualización 2024)
“Proceso a través del cual diversos actores de una comunidad -incluidos el gobierno, el sector privado, la ciudadanía y la academia- interactúan y toman decisiones colectivas para dirigir y regular espacios y temáticas comunes para lograr un desarrollo sostenible.”
In short: Our translation: a process in which government, business, citizens and academia take collective decisions to steer and regulate shared issues towards sustainable development.
What we notice: A national policy defines governance as a collective, multi-actor process towards sustainable development.
Note: Defines governance in general, not AI governance. The quotation is the original Spanish.
What it governs, towards what, when, at what level
- What is governed
- Shared spaces and issues; applied to AI in the policy’s governance and ethics axis
- Towards what
- Sustainable development
- Timing and adaptation
- Not addressed in the definition
- Level
- National, with regional and global cooperation
Inspect evidence · 1 passage
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Política Nacional de Inteligencia Artificial (Actualización 2024) (opens in a new tab)Glosario, “Gobernanza”, p. 17
Our translation: governance is a process through which a community’s actors, including government, the private sector, citizens and academia, interact and take collective decisions to steer and regulate shared spaces and issues towards sustainable development.
Scope note: Adopted by decree; published in the Diario Oficial. Quotes are in Spanish; the passage summary is a translation.
Passage checked 2026-10-19 · chile-gobernanza-definition
May 2024 · Uses the term, no definition
Colorado General Assembly
SB24-205 Consumer Protections for Artificial Intelligence (enrolled act)
What it says: Requires deployers of high-risk AI to run a risk management policy and program “to govern” deployment, without defining governance.
What we notice: Law starts to require governance programmes without defining governance.
Note: Points to the NIST AI RMF and ISO/IEC 42001 as benchmarks.
What it governs, towards what, when, at what level
- What is governed
- A deployer’s deployment of high-risk AI systems
- Towards what
- Preventing algorithmic discrimination
- Timing and adaptation
- Yes: an iterative program reviewed over the system’s life cycle
- Level
- Organisational duty under state law
Inspect evidence · 1 passage
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SB24-205 Consumer Protections for Artificial Intelligence (enrolled act) (opens in a new tab)Section 6-1-1703(2)(a), pp. 10–11
Requires deployers of high-risk AI to implement a risk management policy and program, specifying principles, processes and personnel, to govern deployment. The program must be iterative and regularly reviewed over the system’s life cycle, and names the NIST AI RMF and ISO/IEC 42001 as benchmarks. The act does not define governance.
Scope note: Signed 17 May 2024 according to the LegiScan status page. The enrolled text gives an effective date of 1 February 2026; later amendments to that date were not checked.
Passage checked 2026-10-19 · colorado-risk-program
June 2024 · Defines the term
IAPP (International Association of Privacy Professionals)
AI Governance in Practice Report 2024
“It encompasses the growing combination of principles, laws, policies, processes, standards, frameworks, industry best practices and other tools incorporated across the design, development, deployment and use of AI.”
In short: A growing toolkit of principles, laws, standards and practices applied across the AI lifecycle.
What we notice: Practitioners describe governance as a growing toolkit applied across the AI lifecycle.
What it governs, towards what, when, at what level
- What is governed
- AI across design, development, deployment and use
- Towards what
- Responsible innovation
- Timing and adaptation
- Not addressed (our reading: the lifecycle framing implies ongoing application)
- Level
- Mainly organisational
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AI Governance in Practice Report 2024 (opens in a new tab)Introduction
Describes the practice of AI governance as a growing combination of principles, laws, policies, processes, standards, frameworks, best practices and other tools applied across the design, development, deployment and use of AI; a key goal of an AI governance programme is responsible innovation.
Scope note: A professional association report. This is not the IAPP glossary “Key terms for AI governance”, which could not be read.
Passage checked 2026-10-19 · iapp-definition
July 2024 · Explains without defining
African Union
Continental Artificial Intelligence Strategy
What it says: Governance is the means to make AI inclusive, serve African agendas and avoid harm, across several tiers.
What we notice: A continental strategy ties governance to inclusion, African agendas and several tiers of government.
What it governs, towards what, when, at what level
- What is governed
- The development and use of AI across its lifecycle
- Towards what
- Inclusion, African agendas and avoiding harm
- Timing and adaptation
- Yes: agile, forward-looking, adaptable regulation
- Level
- Continental, regional and national
Inspect evidence · 1 passage
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Continental Artificial Intelligence Strategy (opens in a new tab)Section 2.4.1, “AI Governance and Regulation”, pp. 33–36
Calls effective governance a key mechanism for making the use and development of AI inclusive of diverse populations, serving African agendas and avoiding harm, through a multi-tiered approach and agile, forward-looking, adaptable regulation.
Scope note: Global South regional body. Adopted by the AU Executive Council at its session of 18–19 July 2024 and posted by the AU on 9 August 2024; a strategy, not binding law.
Passage checked 2026-10-19 · au-effective-governance
July 2024 · Uses the term, no definition
European Union
Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 — Artificial Intelligence Act
What it says: Uses “governance” as the name of an institutional chapter (the AI Office, the AI Board, national authorities) without defining it.
What we notice: The EU’s AI law uses governance as the name for its enforcing institutions, not as a concept.
What it governs, towards what, when, at what level
- What is governed
- AI systems and general-purpose AI models on the EU market
- Towards what
- Trustworthy, human-centric AI and protection of health, safety and fundamental rights
- Timing and adaptation
- Not addressed in the governance provisions
- Level
- EU and national institutions
Inspect evidence · 1 passage
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Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 — Artificial Intelligence Act (opens in a new tab)Article 3(47); Chapter VII, “Governance”; Article 1(1)
Does not define governance. The term appears in the definition of the AI Office, and Chapter VII, titled “Governance”, sets up Union-level bodies and national competent authorities. Read via a third-party consolidation of the official text.
Scope note: Original 2024 enactment, not a consolidated current-law or applicability check. Records discuss its text, not whether a provision applies to a particular situation today.
Passage checked 2026-10-19 · eu-ai-act-governance-chapter
September 2024 · Explains without defining
United Nations High-level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence
Governing AI for Humanity: Final Report
What it says: Governance must manage risks and spread benefits so no one is left behind, through universal, networked, adaptive multi-stakeholder collaboration.
What we notice: The UN’s experts make benefit-sharing central and say governance should shape incentives, though they do not define the term.
What it governs, towards what, when, at what level
- What is governed
- AI globally, its risks and opportunities, and the international institutions around it
- Towards what
- Address risks and leave no one behind
- Timing and adaptation
- Yes: agile and adaptive
- Level
- Global
Inspect evidence · 2 passages
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Governing AI for Humanity: Final Report (opens in a new tab)Executive summary, para. vi; para. 47 (guiding principle 4)
Says AI governance is needed both to address risks and to harness AI’s potential in ways that leave no one behind, and that it must be universal, networked and rooted in adaptive multi-stakeholder collaboration. The report does not define the term.
Scope note: An advisory body report representing a majority consensus of its members in their personal capacity. It is not a UN member-state decision. Page locators refer to the PDF's printed page numbers.
Passage checked 2026-10-19 · un-hlab-governance-crucial
Governing AI for Humanity: Final Report (opens in a new tab)Para. 16; para. 35
Says any governance framework should shape incentives globally towards larger and more inclusive objectives, and calls for agile governance so that accountability keeps pace with AI.
Scope note: An advisory body report representing a majority consensus of its members in their personal capacity. It is not a UN member-state decision. Page locators refer to the PDF's printed page numbers.
Passage checked 2026-10-19 · un-hlab-shape-incentives
September 2024 · Uses the term, no definition
Council of Europe
Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law (CETS No. 225)
What it says: Regulates activities across the AI lifecycle without using or defining the word governance.
What we notice: A binding international AI treaty avoids the word governance entirely.
What it governs, towards what, when, at what level
- What is governed
- Activities within the lifecycle of AI systems
- Towards what
- Human rights, democracy and the rule of law
- Timing and adaptation
- Partly: iterative risk management across the lifecycle and testing before first use (Article 16)
- Level
- International treaty implemented by states
Inspect evidence · 1 passage
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Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law (CETS No. 225) (opens in a new tab)Preamble; Articles 1, 2 and 16
Aims to ensure activities within the lifecycle of AI systems are fully consistent with human rights, democracy and the rule of law. It defines only “artificial intelligence system”; the word governance does not appear in the text we read. Article 16 requires risk and impact management applied iteratively across the lifecycle, including testing before first use.
Scope note: The Council of Europe overview page was reviewed, not the treaty text itself. The Convention binds only parties for which it has entered into force, and is largely framed as obligations on states to adopt measures. Signature and ratification status changes; verify before relying on it. The treaty text itself (CETS 225) was opened on 19 October 2026 for the definitions comparison.
Passage checked 2026-10-19 · coe-no-governance-term
October 2024 · Defines the term
IBM
What is AI governance? (IBM Think explainer)
“Artificial intelligence (AI) governance refers to the processes, standards and guardrails that help ensure that AI systems are safe and ethical.”
In short: Processes, standards and guardrails that keep AI systems safe and ethical over time.
What we notice: A vendor explainer defines governance as guardrails for safe, ethical AI over time.
Note: A vendor explainer; see the source note.
What it governs, towards what, when, at what level
- What is governed
- AI systems
- Towards what
- Safe and ethical AI
- Timing and adaptation
- Yes: sustaining standards over time, not one-time compliance
- Level
- Organisational
Inspect evidence · 1 passage
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What is AI governance? (IBM Think explainer) (opens in a new tab)Opening paragraphs
Defines AI governance as the processes, standards and guardrails that help keep AI systems safe and ethical, and says it is about sustaining ethical standards over time, not one-time compliance.
Scope note: A vendor explainer, included because it is widely read, not for its standing. IBM sells AI governance products.
Passage checked 2026-10-19 · ibm-definition
October 2024 · Explains without defining
Second Ministerial and High Authorities Summit on the Ethics of AI in Latin America and the Caribbean
Declaración de Montevideo
What it says: Our translation: governance suited to the region’s socioeconomic and cultural contexts, promoting inclusion and equitable access while respecting national policy choices.
What we notice: Latin American ministers ask that governance fit regional contexts and respect each country’s choices.
What it governs, towards what, when, at what level
- What is governed
- AI technologies across the life cycle
- Towards what
- Rights, inclusion and equity
- Timing and adaptation
- Not addressed in the declaration
- Level
- National sovereignty within regional and global governance
Inspect evidence · 1 passage
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Declaración de Montevideo (opens in a new tab)Preamble
Our translation: affirms that AI governance must take account of the region’s particular socioeconomic and cultural contexts, address risks and impacts across the life cycle, and promote digital inclusion and equitable access, while respecting each country’s power to set its own policy.
Scope note: A non-binding ministerial declaration, in Spanish; passage summaries are our translation.
Passage checked 2026-10-19 · montevideo-governance
December 2024 · Defines the term
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan
AI Guidelines for Business Ver1.1 (provisional English translation)
“The design and operation of technological, organizational, and social systems by stakeholders for the purpose of managing risks posed by the use of AI at levels acceptable to stakeholders and maximizing their positive impact (benefit).”
In short: Stakeholders design and run technical, organisational and social systems that keep AI risks acceptable to them while maximising benefit.
What we notice: The first government definition we found names stakeholders, social systems, acceptable risk and benefit, with an agile cycle.
What it governs, towards what, when, at what level
- What is governed
- The risks and benefits of using AI, through technological, organisational and social systems
- Towards what
- Risk at levels stakeholders accept; maximum benefit
- Timing and adaptation
- Yes: an agile, continuous governance cycle
- Level
- Organisational guidance set within a society-wide idea of agile governance
Inspect evidence · 2 passages
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AI Guidelines for Business Ver1.1 (provisional English translation) (opens in a new tab)Part 1, Definitions (related terms), “AI governance”
Defines AI governance as stakeholders designing and operating technological, organisational and social systems to keep the risks of using AI at levels stakeholders find acceptable while maximising AI’s benefits.
Scope note: A provisional translation; the Japanese original prevails. The same definition appears in Ver1.01 (December 2024). Non-binding guidance for businesses.
Passage checked 2026-10-19 · japan-definition
AI Guidelines for Business Ver1.1 (provisional English translation) (opens in a new tab)Part 2 E, “Building AI governance”
Describes agile governance: multiple stakeholders continuously run a cycle of risk analysis, goal setting, system design, operation and evaluation across governance systems in companies, regulation, infrastructure, markets and social codes.
Scope note: A provisional translation; the Japanese original prevails. The same definition appears in Ver1.01 (December 2024). Non-binding guidance for businesses.
Passage checked 2026-10-19 · japan-agile
December 2024 · Explains without defining
Senado Federal do Brasil
Projeto de Lei nº 2338/2023 (Brazil artificial intelligence bill)
What it says: Our translation: general rules for the responsible governance of AI systems, run through a coordinated national regulatory system.
What we notice: A bill frames governance as rules plus a coordinated system of regulators, aimed at rights and responsible innovation.
Note: A pending bill, not law.
What it governs, towards what, when, at what level
- What is governed
- AI systems across their life cycle
- Towards what
- Fundamental rights, responsible innovation and competitiveness
- Timing and adaptation
- Partly: sandboxes and codes of practice
- Level
- National, through a competent authority and sectoral regulators
Inspect evidence · 1 passage
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Projeto de Lei nº 2338/2023 (Brazil artificial intelligence bill) (opens in a new tab)Art. 1; Art. 4, X (bill text sent to the Chamber of Deputies)
Our translation: sets general national rules for the responsible governance of AI systems in Brazil to protect fundamental rights and stimulate responsible innovation and competitiveness. It defines the national AI regulation and governance system, but not governance itself.
Scope note: Pending bill, not law. Passed the Senate on 10 December 2024; awaiting a committee report in the Chamber of Deputies as of 9 October 2026. Earlier passages rely on the Senate’s official news agency; the definitions comparison cites Articles 1 and 4 of the text received by the Chamber of Deputies.
Passage checked 2026-10-19 · brazil-responsible-governance