Terms related to AI · 3.1.32
soft computing
a computing field that tolerates and uses imprecision, uncertainty and partial truth so that solving a problem becomes more tractable and robust
What this term settles
The definition is deliberately narrow. It tells the reader what counts as soft computing and leaves the engineering choices outside the word.
Who it binds
The entry has no shall in it, and the force of soft computing comes from use: once it appears in a procedure or a supplier term, this is the meaning the reader may rely on.
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 soft computing in this sense, then record the answer with a date.
Evidence an auditor or regulator asks for
- A controlled vocabulary entry for soft computing with the citation 3.1.32, an owner and a review date.An auditor can check that soft computing is controlled rather than assumed.
- An AI system inventory field that records the entry for each system, with its owner. The row names soft computing.Shows soft computing 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 soft computing 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 soft computing.
Common gaps this page catches
- soft computing is used in the AI vocabulary a policy reaches for first without a written definition, so two teams can mean different things.
- A supplier uses soft computing with a different boundary and nobody has recorded the difference.
What to prepare before the amendment lands
Brief the owners who use soft computing most often, then ask each to return one artefact that shows the entry in use. File the artefacts against the register row.
How to test it here
Take one live artefact rather than a template, find the sentence or field where soft computing 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 soft computing at the claim level "definition" and stops where the public record stops.
Common questions
- What does soft computing mean in ISO 22989?
- a computing field that tolerates and uses imprecision, uncertainty and partial truth so that solving a problem becomes more tractable and robust
- What evidence should we keep for 3.1.32?
- A controlled vocabulary entry for soft computing with the citation 3.1.32, an owner and a review date. An AI system inventory field that records the entry for each system, with its owner. The row names soft computing.
- Is soft computing a requirement?
- No: soft computing 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 3.1.32, 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