# Shaping New Norms for AI

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.08564 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.08564/

## Key facts

- Cited by 7 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 5 of its 58 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 17 Jul 2023.

## Builds on (most cited first, 5 of 5)

- [Auditing large language models: a three-layered approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.08500/) (2023)
- [The Spontaneous Emergence of Conventions: An Experimental Study of Cultural Evolution](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1502.06910/) (2015)
- [The Emergence of Consensus: A Primer](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1704.07767/) (2017)
- [The Dynamics of Norm Change in the Cultural Evolution of Language](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1809.04328/) (2018)
- [Group interactions modulate critical mass dynamics in social convention](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.10411/) (2021)

## Built on by (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [Emergent social conventions and collective bias in LLM populations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.08948/) (2024)
- [Agentic Large Language Models, a survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.23037/) (2025)
- [How malicious AI swarms can threaten democracy: The fusion of agentic AI and LLMs marks a new frontier in information warfare](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.06299/) (2025)
- [Generative AI collective behavior needs an interactionist paradigm](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.10567/) (2026)
- [Limits of Large Language Models in Debating Humans](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.06049/) (2024)
- [Indirect tipping: a social attack surface in AI agent populations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.25194/) (2026)
- [Bounded Normative Equivalence in Human-AI Cooperation: Group Behaviour, Not Partner Labels, Predicts Cooperation under Anonymous Aggregate Feedback](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.20487/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly integrated into our lives, the need for new norms is urgent. However, AI evolves at a much faster pace than the characteristic time of norm formation, posing an unprecedented challenge to our societies. This paper examines possible criticalities of the processes of norm formation surrounding AI. Thus, it focuses on how new norms can be established, rather than on what these norms should be. It distinguishes different scenarios based on the centralisation or decentralisation of the norm formation process, analysing the cases where new norms are shaped by formal authorities, informal institutions, or emerge spontaneously in a bottom-up fashion. On the latter point, the paper reports a conversation with ChatGPT in which the LLM discusses some of the emerging norms it has observed. Far from seeking exhaustiveness, this article aims to offer readers interpretive tools to understand society's response to the growing pervasiveness of AI. An outlook on how AI could influence the formation of future social norms emphasises the importance for open societies to anchor their formal deliberation process in an open, inclusive, and transparent public discourse.