Heart and Logic Foundation
Independent, neutral governing body for the HART Standard.
Who publishes the standard
The HART Standard (Human-Aligned Responsible Technology) was originally developed by Theobridge and has since been gifted to Heart and Logic Foundation, which now serves as its independent, neutral governing body. The document is maintained by the Foundation's Human Impact Technical Committee, building on the original methodology developed by Theobridge.
Heart and Logic Foundation does not itself issue certification. Independent, accredited assessment bodies — including Theobridge, operating under its own accreditation — conduct third-party HART conformance assessments. The Foundation's role is to maintain the standard and publish the conformance criteria against which those bodies evaluate organizations.
Why it exists
Artificial intelligence is increasingly deployed across every sector of the global economy, reshaping how organizations operate and how human labor is structured. Significant progress has been made in AI risk management, regulatory compliance, and technical governance — but no internationally recognized standard has systematically required organizations to measure, track, plan for, and remediate the human impacts of AI deployment on workers, roles, and organizational capability.
The framework emerged from direct observation of real-world AI deployments across logistics, professional services, healthcare administration, and financial services, and draws on published research in labor economics, human factors engineering, and organizational behavior. The HART Standard operates on the recognition that responsible AI deployment is not only a technical or regulatory challenge — it is a human one. The question “Does this AI system function correctly?” is necessary but insufficient. The more demanding and more important question is: “What happens to the people when this AI system is deployed?”
Governance
The standard is maintained by the Heart and Logic Foundation Human Impact Technical Committee. It is designed to be implemented alongside — not in place of — existing AI governance instruments, including ISO/IEC 42001:2023, the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, and jurisdiction-specific regulation such as the EU AI Act.
Feedback, questions, and proposals regarding the standard's development should be directed to the Foundation at connect@heartandlogic.org.