Decentralized Oversight: Blockchain and Federated Governance for AI Standards

Most current AI governance models assume centralized, top-down oversight (see Source 3, Dickey et al., and Source 5, DeFranco & Biersmith). However, Hayati et al. (2025) hint at the potential for digital registration and blockchain to improve arbitration transparency—why not extend this logic to AI itself? Inspired by the "challenge core assumptions" heuristic, this project would design and prototype a federated, blockchain-enabled oversight system for AI standards. Stakeholders across borders could propose, vote on, and verify compliance with standards in a transparent, tamper-resistant way, drawing lessons from successful decentralized finance and arbitration systems. This approach would be particularly valuable in multinational and multi-jurisdictional contexts, addressing the regulatory fragmentation highlighted by Nakajima (2024) and the need for global standards identified by Allahrakha (2024). The novelty lies in applying decentralized governance architectures to AI oversight, which could democratize standard-setting, reduce regulatory capture, and increase trust.

References:

1. Information Standards and Guidelines on AI: Ethical Concerns, Trustworthiness, Quality Assessment, and Human Oversight. Timothy J. Dickey, Brian Dobreski, M. Hlava, Brady Lund, Mark Needleman, M. L. Zeng (2024). Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology.
2. Ethical standards in arbitration practice in Indonesia: Challenges and strengthening of oversight. Vivi Hayati, Muhammad Iqbal, Natasya Masthura, Saiful Anwar, Cut Hasmiyati (2025). Jurnal Geuthèë.
3. Assessing the State of AI Policy. Joanna F. DeFranco, Luke Biersmith (2024). arXiv.org.
4. The generative artificial intelligence governance paradox: Driving innovation while challenging global corporate oversight in multinational firms. Ryosuke Nakajima (2024). Corporate governance: Scholarly research and practice.
5. UNESCO's AI Ethics Principles: Challenges and Opportunities. Naeem Allahrakha (2024). International journal of law and policy.