2016
April 2016
EU GDPR Adopted
General Data Protection Regulation adopted, including Article 22 on automated decision-making. Enforcement begins May 2018.
September 2016
Partnership on AI Founded
Amazon, DeepMind, Facebook, Google, IBM, and Microsoft establish the Partnership on AI to study and formulate best practices.
2017
January 2017
Asilomar AI Principles
23 principles for beneficial AI developed at the Future of Life Institute conference, signed by thousands of researchers.
July 2017
China New Generation AI Development Plan
State Council announces goal for China to become world leader in AI by 2030, with massive investment commitments.
2018
April 2018
EU AI Strategy
European Commission publishes “Artificial Intelligence for Europe” strategy, establishing the High-Level Expert Group on AI.
May 2018
GDPR Enforcement Begins
GDPR becomes enforceable across the EU, including Article 22 rights regarding automated individual decision-making.
June 2018
Google AI Principles Published
Google publishes AI principles following Project Maven controversy — first major tech company to do so.
December 2018
Canada Directive on ADM
Treasury Board of Canada issues Directive on Automated Decision-Making for federal government use of AI.
2019
May 2019
OECD AI Principles Adopted
First intergovernmental standard on AI, adopted by 42 countries. Five principles for trustworthy AI that influence virtually every subsequent national strategy.
June 2019
G20 AI Principles
G20 endorses human-centered AI principles based on the OECD framework at Osaka Summit.
November 2019
US National AI Initiative Act Introduced
Bipartisan legislation to coordinate US AI research and development across federal agencies.
2020
February 2020
EU White Paper on AI
European Commission publishes White Paper on AI proposing a risk-based regulatory framework — precursor to the AI Act.
June 2020
GPAI Launched
Global Partnership on AI established by 15 founding members to bridge gap between theory and practice in AI governance.
November 2020
IEEE 7000 Published
IEEE publishes the standard for addressing ethical concerns during system design — first major ethical AI engineering standard.
2021
April 2021
EU AI Act Proposed
European Commission publishes the Artificial Intelligence Act proposal — the world’s first comprehensive AI regulation.
August 2021
China Algorithm Recommendation Rules
China publishes rules for Internet Information Service Algorithmic Recommendation Management, effective March 2022.
November 2021
UNESCO AI Ethics Recommendation
All 193 UNESCO member states adopt the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence — first global normative instrument on AI ethics.
2022
January 2022
China Deep Synthesis Provisions
Cyberspace Administration of China publishes regulations on deep synthesis (deepfakes), effective January 2023.
October 2022
US AI Bill of Rights Blueprint
White House OSTP publishes the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights — five principles for AI-era protections (non-binding).
November 2022
ChatGPT Released
OpenAI releases ChatGPT, triggering massive acceleration in AI governance activity worldwide.
2023
January 2023
NIST AI RMF 1.0 Published
National Institute of Standards and Technology publishes the AI Risk Management Framework — widely adopted risk management standard.
July 2023
China Generative AI Measures
Interim Measures for the Management of Generative AI Services take effect, requiring algorithm registration and content safety.
July 2023
NYC Local Law 144 Enforcement
New York City begins enforcing law requiring bias audits for automated employment decision tools.
July 2023
White House Voluntary AI Commitments
15 leading AI companies sign voluntary commitments on safety, security, and trust with the Biden-Harris administration.
October 2023
US Executive Order on AI (EO 14110)
Most significant US AI governance action — mandates safety testing, NIST standards development, and reporting requirements for frontier models.
November 2023
UK AI Safety Summit (Bletchley Park)
28 countries sign the Bletchley Declaration on AI safety; UK AI Safety Institute announced.
December 2023
EU AI Act Political Agreement
European Parliament and Council reach political agreement on the AI Act after marathon negotiations.
December 2023
ISO/IEC 42001 Published
World’s first certifiable AI management system standard published by ISO.
2024
February 2024
EU AI Act Formally Adopted
European Parliament votes to adopt the AI Act (523-46-49), completing the legislative process.
May 2024
Colorado AI Act Signed
First comprehensive US state AI law signed, focusing on high-risk AI in consequential decisions. Effective February 2026.
May 2024
Seoul AI Safety Summit
Second global AI safety summit; 16 companies sign Frontier AI Safety Commitments.
August 2024
EU AI Act Enters into Force
AI Act published in the Official Journal and enters into force, beginning phased implementation timeline.
September 2024
Council of Europe AI Convention
First legally binding international treaty on AI adopted — the Framework Convention on AI and Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law.
September 2024
UN Global Digital Compact
Summit of the Future adopts the Global Digital Compact, including AI governance provisions.
December 2024
GPAI Merges with OECD
Global Partnership on AI merges into OECD, becoming the organization’s AI governance hub.
2025
February 2025
EU AI Act: Prohibited Practices Apply
First phase of EU AI Act enforcement — prohibitions on unacceptable risk AI practices and AI literacy requirements take effect.
February 2025
Paris AI Action Summit
Third global AI safety summit hosted by France; focus on inclusive AI governance.
August 2025
EU AI Act: GPAI Obligations Apply
General-purpose AI model obligations take effect — transparency, documentation, and systemic risk assessment requirements.
2026
February 2026
Colorado AI Act Enforcement
Colorado SB 24-205 enforcement begins — first comprehensive US state AI regulation.
August 2026
EU AI Act: High-Risk Obligations Apply
Full obligations for high-risk AI systems take effect — conformity assessments, registration, monitoring requirements.
2027
August 2027
EU AI Act: Annex I High-Risk Systems
Obligations apply to high-risk AI systems that are safety components of products under existing EU harmonisation legislation (Annex I).