Terms related to AI · 3.1.5
autonomy
a property of a system able to change the scope of its use or its goal without anyone outside stepping in to control or supervise it
What this term settles
The definition is deliberately narrow. It tells the reader what counts as autonomy and leaves the engineering choices outside the word.
Who it binds
A definition binds nobody on its own, so the force of autonomy comes only from the reader who adopts it in a policy, a contract, a data schema or an assurance argument.
What to do in your practice
Use the entry as a test in the next review. Ask the owner to point at the artefact that shows autonomy in this sense, then record the answer with a date.
Evidence an auditor or regulator asks for
- A controlled vocabulary entry for autonomy with the citation 3.1.5, an owner and a review date.An auditor can check that autonomy is controlled rather than assumed.
- An AI system inventory field that records the entry for each system, with its owner. The row names autonomy.Shows autonomy in use in the artefact the firm relies on, not only in a glossary.
- A policy or procedure sentence that uses the entry in this sense. The record carries the autonomy entry and its date.The policy borrows the word but not the boundary, so a supplier system and an in-house model are treated as the same kind of thing. The gap is tested against autonomy.
Common gaps this page catches
- autonomy is used in the AI vocabulary a policy reaches for first without a written definition, so two teams can mean different things.
- autonomy appears in a template with no citation, so the reader cannot tell which sense was intended.
What to prepare before the amendment lands
Take the next policy revision and replace the loose use of autonomy with the entry and its citation. Record the change in the vocabulary change log.
How to test it here
Take one live artefact rather than a template, find the sentence or field where autonomy is used, and put this page beside it. Record the answer, the artefact and the date, because that record is the evidence and a glossary entry on its own is only an intention.
What this page does not claim
The page does not reproduce the standard, certify the firm or predict the wording the amendment will use; it states autonomy at the claim level "definition" and stops where the public record stops.
Common questions
- What does autonomy mean in ISO 22989?
- a property of a system able to change the scope of its use or its goal without anyone outside stepping in to control or supervise it
- What evidence should we keep for 3.1.5?
- A controlled vocabulary entry for autonomy with the citation 3.1.5, an owner and a review date. An AI system inventory field that records the entry for each system, with its owner. The row names autonomy.
- Is autonomy a requirement?
- No: autonomy is a definition or clause of a terminology standard, and it becomes binding only when a firm writes it into a policy, a contract or a procedure, or when another standard incorporates it.
Related units
Source. ISO/IEC 22989:2022, Clause 3.1.5, Terms and definitions. Open the ISO public entry. Retrieved 21 October 2026.
https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/en/#iso:std:iso-iec:22989:ed-1:v1:en
ISO catalogue record 88145, the amendment status, stage and dates. Catalogue record 74296, the base standard.
Claim level: definition. The definition is in the public preview. This page states it in our own words and does not reproduce the text.
Last updated: 2026-10-21 · Markdown version · Check your vocabulary