Thresholds for sensitive and restricted uses

The requirement, in our words

Set documented thresholds for how an AI system may be used, covering the sensitive cases, the restricted cases and the impact scale, taking account of law, interested-party expectations, the state of the art, benefits, cultural and labour norms and the applicable ethical frameworks.

What it means for human oversight

The threshold decides the intensity of oversight. A use above the threshold should require a higher approval, a named senior overseer and a shorter review cycle.

How to evidence it

Attach the artefacts above to the Thresholds for sensitive and restricted uses row with the system name, the owner and the date. The first one is the anchor: Documented thresholds with the factors considered. The OH-34 file is complete when the named person can produce that artefact and explain the decision it records, without asking someone else where it is.

The reviewer will sample one live decision and ask for Escalation and approval steps for a use above a threshold. If that artefact for OH-34 cannot be produced, the row is a gap, whatever the policy says.

OH-34 carries 3 evidence items and 2 common gaps. For thresholds for sensitive and restricted uses, link the row to the assessment page that names the harm, because an overseer cannot watch for a consequence the file never describes. The OH-34 statement above is ours, written from ISO/IEC 42005:2025, 5.7, not a reproduction of the licensed text.

Common gaps

• No definition of sensitive or restricted uses
• Large-population uses treated as low impact

Related units

• Impact assessment at planning
• Impact assessment in operation
• Context and the role you play