Ethical AI Principles & Oversight Board Charter
Ethical AI Principles & Oversight Board Charter
Governance & Policies Ethical Oversight
+ On this page
Key takeaways
- The Oversight Board ensures ethical integrity, human rights compliance, and accountability across AI systems.
- Ethical principles form binding design inputs for every AI project at Zen AI Governance.
- Board decisions and risk waivers are documented as audit-ready artefacts (EV-IDs).
Core ethical principles
- Human agency & oversight: All systems must preserve meaningful human control.
- Fairness & non-discrimination: Design, data, and deployment must prevent unjust bias.
- Transparency & explainability: Users should understand AI logic, purpose, and limitations.
- Privacy & data stewardship: Personal data handled lawfully, minimised, and protected.
- Accountability & auditability: Traceable decisions, documented waivers, open audit trails.
- Reliability & safety: Continuous monitoring and incident response aligned with risk level.
- Sustainability & societal benefit: Evaluate energy use, inclusivity, and public good impact.
Oversight Board mandate
The Zen AI Governance Ethical Oversight Board is mandated to:
- Review and approve AI projects, risk waivers, and deployments with ethical implications.
- Resolve escalations from compliance, data protection, or technical review teams.
- Commission audits, impact assessments, or external reviews when risks exceed thresholds.
- Recommend policy updates to maintain ISO 42001 and regulatory conformity.
Composition & membership
| Role | Description | Minimum Members |
|---|
| Chairperson | Provides leadership, convenes meetings, ensures impartiality. | 1 |
| Chief AI Officer | Technical authority; interprets model behaviour and design trade-offs. | 1 |
| Compliance & Risk Lead | Ensures ISO 42001 and regulatory alignment. | 1 |
| Data Protection Officer (DPO) | Advises on GDPR and privacy implications. | 1 |
| External Advisor(s) | Independent ethical or legal experts (rotational). | ≥ 1 |
| Observer(s) | Stakeholders, clients, or regulators invited as observers. | Variable |
Meetings & quorum
- Quarterly scheduled meetings, plus ad-hoc sessions for incident escalation.
- Quorum: ≥ 50 % voting members including the Chairperson or delegate.
- Decisions recorded via signed digital minutes with EV-ID linking to evidence sets.
Roles & responsibilities
- Board Chair: Ensures independence, manages conflicts of interest, and enforces transparency.
- Secretariat: Prepares agendas, records minutes, manages evidence archiving.
- Members: Review submissions, risk matrices, and ethical assessments.
- External Experts: Provide neutral perspective for sensitive or high-risk topics.
Escalation & decision flow
AI Team → Compliance Review → Risk Committee → Ethical Oversight Board → Authorising Officer
(Each stage logs EV-ID and sign-off time for traceability)
Reporting & transparency
- Board minutes published internally; sensitive decisions summarised publicly.
- Annual Ethical AI Report highlights cases, waivers, trends, and corrective actions.
- Transparency dashboard links oversight KPIs (bias incidents, risk waivers, training coverage).
Templates & registers
A) Ethical Review Submission Form
| Field | Description |
|---|
| Project ID / Name | Unique AI system identifier |
| Purpose & Intended Use | Business context and expected benefit |
| Risk Rating (Low/Med/High) | Derived from Risk Register |
| Ethical Concerns | Bias, autonomy, discrimination, misinformation, safety |
| Mitigation Measures | Planned technical/organisational safeguards |
| Decision | Approve / Approve with Conditions / Reject |
| Sign-Off (Board) | Digital signature & EV-ID reference |
B) Ethics Register (example fields)
Record_ID,Project_ID,Ethical_Issue,Severity,Decision,Follow_Up_Action,Responsible,Due_Date,EV_ID
Regulatory alignment
| Framework | Reference | Ethical relevance |
|---|
| ISO/IEC 42001 | §5–§6 | Leadership, roles, and commitment to ethical AI. |
| EU AI Act | Art. 9 & Annex III | Risk management and oversight for high-risk systems. |
| UK DSIT Framework | Principles 1–6 | Fairness, accountability, contestability, transparency. |
Implementation checklist
- Board charter approved and published internally.
- Members appointed and conflicts-of-interest declarations logged.
- Ethical Review Form template deployed across all projects.
- Ethics Register maintained with version-controlled entries.
- Annual Ethical AI Report presented to senior management.
© Zen AI Governance UK Ltd • Regulatory Knowledge • v1 16 Nov 2025 • This page is general guidance, not legal advice.
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