OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) | Institution Profile

INSTITUTION PROFILE / AI & MACHINE LEARNING

OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)
It set the AI Principles and a shared definition that other jurisdictions cite. Its recommendations are not legally binding (soft law)

The OECD is an intergovernmental organisation of 38 member countries, headquartered in Paris. It does not build AI models, and it does not regulate AI. Its role in AI and machine learning is to set the AI Principles (a Council Recommendation) and to run the machinery that supports them: the OECD.AI policy observatory, a working party of government officials, the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI), and a reporting framework for the Hiroshima AI Process. The Recommendation does not legally bind members, but the OECD says the EU, the United States, the United Nations and others use its definition of an "AI system" in their own frameworks. This profile looks at one question: how much influence the OECD actually has over AI and machine learning. The relationship with GPAI and the status of the reporting framework carry a check date (15 October 2026).

Sources: the OECD's website (overview, organisational structure, members, budget), the OECD Legal Instruments database (OECD/LEGAL/0449), and OECD.AI pages (AI Principles, About OECD.AI, AIGO, GPAI, the Hiroshima AI Reporting Framework and its list of submitted reports). Last updated October 2026 (pages checked on 15 October 2026).

Conceptual image generated with ImageGen. Policies are organized with shared categories for discussion. Comparative frameworks are distinct from binding laws. Not an actual facility, product or measured result.

What this article covers

The OECD in 30 seconds
What kind of body it is: the four types of influence
What it does for AI and machine learning
How far its influence reaches (powers and geography)
Companies and organisations it works with
Outlook
Glossary, references and claim-to-source audit

1. The OECD in 30 seconds

LEGAL NAMEOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and DevelopmentKnown as the OECD

JURISDICTIONInternational (headquartered in Paris)38 member countries. Their ambassadors sit on the OECD Council, which decides the work

TYPE OF BODYIntergovernmental organisationThe Council, more than 300 committees and the Secretariat determine its output

AI UNITWorking Party on AI Governance (AIGO) under the Digital Policy CommitteeIt also runs the OECD.AI observatory and GPAI. Members are officials nominated by member governments

SIZESecretariat of more than 3,500All fields combined. GPAI's expert community has over 500 members

BUDGETAmount not confirmedPaid for by member contributions (set by a formula based on economic size) and voluntary contributions

ROLE IN AI & MACHINE LEARNINGPrinciples (a Recommendation), an observatory, a reporting frameworkNo power to regulate or certify

REACH47 adherents to the AI PrinciplesIncludes the EU. The G20 AI Principles were drawn from them. Not legally binding

The one thing to grasp first

The OECD's AI Principles are not a law that must be obeyed. They are a shared guide that governments choose to follow. The OECD itself explains that Recommendations adopted by its Council are not legally binding Sourced. Even so, it describes this Recommendation as the first intergovernmental standard on AI, and says its definition of an AI system and of the AI system lifecycle is used in frameworks and guidance of the EU, the Council of Europe, the United States, the United Nations and others Sourced. So the OECD's influence comes not from penalties but from supplying the shared vocabulary that other countries' laws and guidance borrow.

How to read the numbers (checked 15 October 2026)

OECD.AI's AI Principles page gives 47 adherents, while another OECD.AI page says the Principles are endorsed by "over 50 countries" Sourced. The gap may come from how the count is made (for example, whether the EU or G20 participants are counted), but we could not confirm the reason Not yet confirmed. This article uses 47, the figure from the list itself. Note also that OECD members (38), adherents to the AI Principles (47) and GPAI members (46 plus the EU) are three different sets.

2. What kind of body it is: the four types of influence

Unlike the companies in this series, none of the institutions that appear in AI coverage builds AI models. What separates them is the route by which they influence the industry, and that gives four types.

Fig. 1 The four types of institution that shape AI and machine learning, and where the OECD sits. The grouping is ours, and the institution names are examples drawn from the bodies profiled in this series Our calculation. The OECD brings people together through an observatory, a working party and a reporting framework, which makes it a "Convening" body. Its Principles and definition also act as a shared yardstick, so it partly straddles "Standards" (though the Recommendation is non-binding soft law). It holds no funding or regulatory power, so only these two boxes are highlighted.

3. What it does for AI and machine learning

The OECD's AI work covers setting the principles, the machinery that supports them, and a place for companies to report Sourced.

Activity	Date / version	What it covers	Binding force
AI Principles Council Recommendation OECD/LEGAL/0449	Adopted 22 May 2019. The definition of an "AI system" was revised on 8 November 2023, and the Recommendation was revised again on 3 May 2024	Five values-based principles (inclusive growth, sustainable development and well-being; human rights and democratic values, including fairness and privacy; transparency and explainability; robustness, security and safety; accountability) and five recommendations for policymakers (investing in AI R&D, fostering an inclusive AI-enabling ecosystem, shaping an interoperable governance and policy environment, building human capacity, and international co-operation)	Not legally binding (a Recommendation)
OECD.AI policy observatory	Launched in 2020	Country and regional dashboards of AI policy, research and analysis, an AI Incidents and Hazards Monitor (AIM), a catalogue of tools and metrics for trustworthy AI, and a blog (the AI Wonk)	Information only. Not binding
Working Party on AI Governance (AIGO)	Set up under the Digital Policy Committee	Members are mainly officials in charge of AI policy, nominated by OECD member governments. It oversees analysis of national AI policies and action plans, AI impact assessment, and support for implementing the AI Principles	An internal OECD working party
GPAI (Global Partnership on AI)	Launched in 2020 with 15 founding members. Joined forces with the OECD in July 2024	An international initiative of 46 countries and the EU. Run by a Council, a Plenary and a Steering Group, with over 500 experts advising through working groups. Expert centres are in Paris, Montreal and Tokyo. New members pay annual dues of EUR 20,000 and need the consensus of existing members	Membership is optional. Not binding
Hiroshima AI Process Reporting Framework (HAIP)	Launched February 2025. Version 2.0 is widening participation	Organisations developing advanced AI report in a standard format on their alignment with the Hiroshima AI Process International Code of Conduct. The first round produced 25 reports. Open to organisations based in an OECD member, a GPAI member or an adherent to the AI Principles. The OECD does not review or verify the content of reports	Reporting is voluntary. It does not show compliance

A materials engineer's view: a self-reported submission is not proof of performance

Reports under the Hiroshima AI Process Reporting Framework are published in full under the submitting organisation's name, and the OECD does not review, screen, verify or redact them Sourced. The OECD itself says participation does not mean compliance with, or equivalence to, other frameworks, and is not an endorsement of an organisation's practices. An engineer choosing an AI system should read these as self-reported statements by each company, and check model performance and safety separately through third-party evaluations and benchmarks. For more, see our explainers on reading benchmarks and evaluations, and on AI safety evaluation and risk management.

4. How far its influence reaches (powers and geography)

Aspect	What the OECD has	What the OECD does not have
Powers	The Council's power to adopt Recommendations. Sharing data, analysis and national experience, running the observatory, and receiving reports under the framework	Power to bind members legally, to sanction, or to certify. Verification of reports (the OECD does not review HAIP submissions)
Geography	38 member countries, 47 adherents to the AI Principles (including the EU), 46 GPAI countries plus the EU. The G20 AI Principles were drawn from the Principles	Among G20 members, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Saudi Arabia and South Africa are not on the adherents list (they are party to the G20 AI Principles)
Binding force	The Recommendation is non-binding soft law. The OECD says the EU, the United States and others use its definition in their own frameworks	Power to decide the content of other countries' laws. We did not verify individual cases of other jurisdictions citing it Not yet confirmed
Size	A Secretariat of more than 3,500 (all fields). The budget rests on member contributions	AI-only budget and headcount were not in the published material we checked

5. Companies and organisations it works with

Fig. 2 The OECD's AI activities and who takes part. Sources: OECD.AI's pages on the AI Principles, About OECD.AI, GPAI and the Hiroshima AI Reporting Framework, and the OECD Legal Instruments database. Company names are those in the list of submitted reports (checked 15 October 2026), selected by us Our calculation.

Party	Relationship described in primary sources	Link to this series
OpenAI, Microsoft	Reports for the third quarter of 2026 were published on 2 October 2026 under the Hiroshima AI Reporting Framework	See our company profiles, where written
Anthropic, Google	Reports for the second quarter of 2026 were published on 2 October 2026	See our company profiles, where written
Amazon	A report for the fourth quarter of 2025 was published on 1 November 2025	See our company profile, where written
Meta, xAI, Mistral AI, NVIDIA and others	These names do not appear in the list we checked (about 57 entries). We could not confirm why	See our company profiles, where written

* Publishing a report is not a judgment of any company's merits or safety. Submission is voluntary and the OECD does not verify the content. Read each report's PDF for the details.

6. Outlook

What we can read from the sources	Primary evidence	Type
Reporting under the Hiroshima framework is likely to continue quarter by quarter	Reports are accepted on a rolling basis and are published under reporting periods such as the second and third quarters of 2026. Version 2.0 aims to widen participation	Inference
The date of the AI Principles' next review is not set	After adoption in 2019, they were revised in November 2023 and May 2024. The sources we checked give no plan for another revision	Not yet confirmed
GPAI will keep accepting new members	GPAI's page welcomes new countries and reviews applications on a rolling basis. The current count is 46 countries plus the EU	Not yet confirmed
The OECD.AI "AI Index" is a measurement framework still at the planning stage	OECD.AI's page says the AI Index "will be" a synthetic measurement framework on trustworthy AI (future tense). We could not confirm a release date	Not yet confirmed

7. Glossary

Council Recommendation: A document adopted by the OECD Council. Members are expected to follow it, but it is not legally binding.

Adherent: A country or jurisdiction that has committed to the OECD's AI Recommendation. It includes non-members and the EU.

OECD.AI: The OECD's AI policy observatory, launched in 2020. It gathers information on policies, data, tools and incidents.

AIGO: The OECD Working Party on AI Governance, under the Digital Policy Committee.

GPAI: Global Partnership on AI. An international framework for responsible AI that merged with the OECD in July 2024.

HAIP: Hiroshima AI Process Reporting Framework. Where organisations report on their alignment with the Hiroshima AI Process International Code of Conduct.

8. References

OECD About (the OECD's role and structure; checked 15 October 2026). https://www.oecd.org/en/about.html
OECD Organisational structure (the Council, more than 300 committees, a Secretariat of more than 3,500, headquarters in Paris). https://www.oecd.org/en/about/organisational-structure.html
OECD Members and partners (38 member countries). https://www.oecd.org/en/about/members-partners.html
OECD Budget (formula-based contributions and voluntary contributions). https://www.oecd.org/en/about/budget.html
OECD OECD Legal Instruments, Recommendation of the Council on Artificial Intelligence, OECD/LEGAL/0449 (adopted 22 May 2019; revised 8 November 2023 and 3 May 2024). https://legalinstruments.oecd.org/en/instruments/OECD-LEGAL-0449
OECD OECD Legal Instruments, About (Recommendations are adopted by the Council and are not legally binding). https://legalinstruments.oecd.org/en/about
OECD.AI AI Principles overview (five principles and five recommendations, 47 adherents, the AI system definition, use by other jurisdictions, G20). https://oecd.ai/en/ai-principles
OECD.AI About OECD.AI (launched 2020, what it offers, the "over 50 countries" statement). https://oecd.ai/en/about-oecd-ai
OECD.AI About AIGO (role of the Working Party on AI Governance). https://oecd.ai/en/about-aigo
OECD.AI About GPAI (46 countries and the EU, July 2024 merger, governance, over 500 experts, conditions for joining). https://oecd.ai/en/about/about-gpai
OECD.AI The Hiroshima AI Reporting Framework (launched February 2025, first round of 25 reports, eligibility). https://oecd.ai/en/transparency/overview
OECD.AI Browse Reports (list of submitted reports, the note that the OECD does not review them; checked 15 October 2026). https://oecd.ai/en/transparency/reports

9. Claim-to-source audit

Claim in the text	Type	Source
The OECD is an intergovernmental organisation, and its structure of Council, committees and Secretariat	Sourced	Reference 1 https://www.oecd.org/en/about.html
Secretariat of more than 3,500, headquarters in Paris, more than 300 committees	Sourced	Reference 2 https://www.oecd.org/en/about/organisational-structure.html
38 member countries	Sourced	Reference 3 https://www.oecd.org/en/about/members-partners.html
Contributions based on a formula reflecting economic size, plus voluntary contributions	Sourced	Reference 4 https://www.oecd.org/en/about/budget.html
Adoption date of the AI Recommendation (22 May 2019), its revisions (8 November 2023, 3 May 2024), and its description as the first intergovernmental standard on AI	Sourced	Reference 5 https://legalinstruments.oecd.org/en/instruments/OECD-LEGAL-0449
Recommendations are not legally binding	Sourced	Reference 6 https://legalinstruments.oecd.org/en/about
Five principles and five recommendations, 47 adherents, the AI system definition and its use in other jurisdictions, the G20 AI Principles	Sourced	Reference 7 https://oecd.ai/en/ai-principles
OECD.AI launched in 2020, what it offers, the "over 50 countries" statement	Sourced	Reference 8 https://oecd.ai/en/about-oecd-ai
The role and membership of AIGO	Sourced	Reference 9 https://oecd.ai/en/about-aigo
GPAI's 46 countries and the EU, July 2024 merger, governance, over 500 experts, centres, EUR 20,000 dues	Sourced	Reference 10 https://oecd.ai/en/about/about-gpai
Start date of the Hiroshima AI Reporting Framework, the first round of 25 reports, eligibility	Sourced	Reference 11 https://oecd.ai/en/transparency/overview
The OECD does not review or verify reports; the list of submitted reports and publication dates	Sourced	Reference 12 https://oecd.ai/en/transparency/reports
The four-type grouping of institutions; the selection of companies with published reports	Our calculation	This article's own grouping
The reason for the gap between 47 adherents and "over 50 countries", AI-only budget and headcount, the next review date of the AI Principles, the release date of the AI Index, why some companies are not on the list, individual cases of other jurisdictions citing the OECD	Not yet confirmed	Not in References 1 to 12. This article does not estimate them
The outlook in Section 6 (continued quarterly reporting)	Inference	This article's reading of References 11 and 12

Last updated 15 October 2026 / Troy Technical
Figures and dates come from the OECD's and OECD.AI's official pages and the OECD Legal Instruments database. This field moves fast, so GPAI membership and the list of reports are as of the check date. Items marked "Inference" are this article's reading of the primary information, not statements by the OECD.