Regulators are increasingly turning to Technology Standards as a means to future-proof legislation while at the same time calling on these communities of subject matter experts to operationalise regulatory obligations into implementation ready best-practice. An important concern that has been raised about this process is that the technical experts who contribute to Standards development are predominantly affiliated with large private sector organizations. By contrast vulnerable or economically less power groups in society, who might be the ‘problem owners’ that legislation is meant to protect, are largely absent in the Standards development process. In this workshop we will discuss the challenges and possible practical remedies to this inclusiveness dilemma in AI Standards development. To create standards that truly address societal risks, “problem owners” need to be included in standards setting practices. This workshop will rely on audience collaboration to identify barriers to participation such as time and resources and to strategise ways to dismantle those burdens.
