# A.5.5 Assessing societal impacts of AI systems

Evaluate and record the possible effects of the organization's AI systems on society over their life cycle. In practice the record is societal impact assessment covering environmental sustainability, economic effects, government and democratic processes, health and safety, and norms and culture. For assessing societal impacts of ai systems the evidence is the signed assessment, not the process diagram.

- Framework: ISO/IEC 42001:2023
- Cited to: ISO/IEC 42001:2023, Annex A control A.5.5
- Source: https://www.iso.org/standard/81230.html
- Last updated: 2026-10-20

## What it asks

Evaluate and record the possible effects of the organization's AI systems on society over their life cycle.

## Where generative AI changes the answer

Societal impact covers the aggregate effect of many outputs, including how the system shapes what customers and staff believe.

## Who it binds

The AI system owner and the impact assessment reviewer.

## Evidence an auditor samples

- Societal impact assessment covering environmental sustainability, economic effects, government and democratic processes, health and safety, and norms and culture
- Analysis of misuse potential and reinforcement of historical bias
- Link to environmental sustainability goals

## The test you can run

Ask for the signed impact assessment for the use, and read the section on people who never interact with it.

## Common failures

- Environmental footprint of AI omitted
- Misuse scenarios such as misinformation not analysed

## Before the draft publishes

Run one impact assessment on a live use, name the people affected, and keep the signed record with the deployment decision.

## What this page does not say

It does not state the text of ISO/IEC DTS 25568, because ISO has not published the draft's clause text. It does not certify anything.

Not legal advice; does not certify.