Three Pathways for Standardisation and Ethical Disclosure by Default under the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act

As the EU’s proposed Artificial Intelligence Act seeks to standardize concepts like transparency, fairness, and accountability, difficult normative questions arise. This course identifies three pathways for standardization: SSOs making normative decisions themselves, tracking existing consensus, or requiring “ethical disclosure by default.” It argues that ethical disclosure — through testing, documentation, and public reporting — best shifts complex decisions to local stakeholders while limiting provider discretion, ensuring more legitimate and context-sensitive AI governance.