IEC SRD 63416-2023 PDF

Full title and description

IEC SRD 63416:2023 — Ethical considerations of artificial intelligence (AI) when applied in the active assisted living (AAL) context. This Systems Reference Deliverable (SRD) provides AAL-specific ethical guidance that supplements general AI governance frameworks and aims to produce concrete, checklist-style recommendations for designers, implementers and policy makers of AAL systems and services.

Abstract

IEC SRD 63416:2023 analyses ethical issues that arise when AI is used in Active Assisted Living (AAL) systems — systems intended to support older adults and other care recipients to live independently. The document reviews existing international AI ethics frameworks (for example OECD and EU guidance) to assess whether they adequately address AAL-specific risks, and it produces practical ethical guidelines and checklists to support design, development, deployment and evaluation of AAL AI solutions.

General information

• Status: Published / Current (Systems Reference Deliverable).
• Publication date: 15 September 2023 (IEC base publication).
• Publisher: International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), SyC AAL (Active Assisted Living).
• ICS / categories: 03.100.02 (Governance and ethics); 11.020.10 (Health care services in general).
• Edition / version: Edition 1.0 (2023).
• Number of pages: 25 (IEC publication metadata).

Scope

This SRD addresses the ethical implications arising from the development and application of AI technologies in the AAL context. It focuses on issues that are specific to AAL environments and care recipients (for example autonomy, privacy in domestic settings, safety and acceptability of monitoring technologies), and it examines whether high-level AI governance frameworks sufficiently cover those AAL-specific concerns. The output is intended to be actionable guidance (including checklists) for AAL system and service design and implementation.

Key topics and requirements

• Ethical principles tailored to AAL: respect for autonomy, dignity and human rights in caregiving settings.
• Privacy, data protection and consent in home and assisted-living contexts (continuous monitoring, sensor data handling).
• Safety, reliability and robustness of AI functions that affect health or daily living activities.
• Transparency and explainability appropriate to users and caregivers (clear information, understandable outputs).
• Fairness and non‑discrimination, with attention to vulnerable or under‑represented groups among care recipients.
• Human oversight, roles and responsibilities (who intervenes, escalation procedures, accountability).
• Contextual risk assessment and mitigation tailored to domestic and care environments.
• Usability, acceptability and human-centered design for older adults and caregivers (including accessibility considerations).
• Operational checklists and governance recommendations to govern AI lifecycle in AAL deployments.

Typical use and users

Primary users are AAL system designers and engineers, health‑technology vendors, product managers, clinical and social care providers, procurement officers, ethics committees and researchers working on assistive technologies. Regulators, certification bodies and organisations responsible for digital health governance may also use the SRD as a reference when assessing AAL solutions. National standards bodies and distributors publish PD (published document) versions of the SRD for sale to local markets.

Related standards

IEC SRD 63416 is intended to supplement and operationalize higher‑level AI ethics frameworks rather than replace them; the SRD explicitly references existing international guidance such as the OECD AI Principles and the European Commission / HLEG “Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI” as background material and comparators. It is designed to sit alongside other AI and health/medical device guidance (including ISO/IEC AI‑related standards and relevant healthcare technical standards) when applied to AAL systems.

Keywords

Active Assisted Living (AAL), AI ethics, ethical guidelines, privacy, data protection, explainability, autonomy, human oversight, safety, robustness, checklist, governance, IEC SRD 63416:2023.

FAQ

Q: What is this standard?

A: IEC SRD 63416:2023 is an IEC Systems Reference Deliverable that provides ethical considerations and practical guidance for the use of artificial intelligence in Active Assisted Living (AAL) systems. It is not a product safety test standard but an ethics/governance guidance document intended to inform design and deployment decisions.

Q: What does it cover?

A: It covers AAL‑specific ethical issues for AI — for example privacy in home monitoring, autonomy and consent of care recipients, safety and reliability of AI functions, transparency/explainability for users and caregivers, fairness, human oversight and contextual risk assessment — and provides checklist‑style guidance for implementers.

Q: Who typically uses it?

A: Designers and developers of AAL systems, healthcare and social‑care providers, product managers at assistive‑technology vendors, regulators and ethics committees, researchers in AAL and digital health, and procurement or standards teams evaluating AAL solutions.

Q: Is it current or superseded?

A: As published by IEC on 15 September 2023, IEC SRD 63416:2023 is the first edition (Edition 1.0). The IEC metadata lists a stability date through 2028. Users should check national publications or the IEC catalogue for any later revisions or related national PD documents.

Q: Is it part of a series?

A: It is a Systems Reference Deliverable produced by the IEC SyC AAL (Active Assisted Living) activity. SRDs and PD (published document) variants are commonly issued to address cross‑sector or topical needs; this SRD is intended to complement other IEC and ISO/IEC work on AI, health technology and governance.

Q: What are the key keywords?

A: Active Assisted Living, AI ethics, privacy, human oversight, transparency, safety, robustness, fairness, checklist, governance.