Values on their own do not make anybody behave. Four things do: personal values, group norms, written codes, and law — and they bind in almost the reverse order of how much attention each gets.
From private and fast to public, binding and slow — and what each of the four can and cannot reach.
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| Guide | Its strength | Its weakness |
|---|---|---|
| Personal values | Works when nobody is watching | Reaches one person |
| Group norms | Fast, and enforced by everyone present | Local, unwritten, invisible from outside |
| Written codes | Public, and can be pointed at | Usually no consequence attached |
| Law | Binds whether or not you agree | Slow — regulates the previous technology |
Why a code of ethics changes least: A code is written by the organisation it governs and is enforced by nobody. It is genuinely useful for telling an employee what is expected — and useless against an organisation that has decided otherwise.
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Real-world examples you can name
The EU Artificial Intelligence Act — agreed December 2023; entered into force August 2024, phased to 2027
The first broad law to regulate AI by risk. Some uses are banned outright, such as untargeted scraping of facial images and social scoring by public authorities; high-risk uses in areas like hiring and education carry duties for data quality, documentation and human oversight.
Who it affected: Anyone deploying AI systems in the EU, and users subject to those systems.
The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — in force since May 2018
A regulation giving people rights over data held about them — to see it, correct it, have it erased and take it elsewhere — and requiring a lawful basis before an organization may process it at all. Fines can reach 4% of a company's worldwide annual turnover.
Who it affected: Everyone in the EU, and any organization anywhere that handles EU residents' data.
Chile's neurorights amendment — constitutional amendment October 2021
The first country to write protection of brain activity and mental integrity into its constitution, ahead of the technology that would threaten them, prompted by consumer devices that read neural signals.
Who it affected: Chileans, and legislators elsewhere watching whether pre-emptive rights work.
The lateness is structural, not lazy: Law arrives after the harm because a legislature cannot write a rule about something nobody has seen yet.
That is not a failure of effort — it is what law is, which is why the other three have to carry the years in between.
How this is tested — part c regularly asks what should be done, and the choice between these four IS the answer. It comes up two ways:
Paper 1 — structured question
- Part c: evaluate regulation against self-regulation
- Part b: explain why a voluntary code did not work
Paper 2 — source-based question
- Q4: synthesise sources on how to govern a technology
- HL Paper 3: recommend, and say which guide you are reaching for
The trap: “there should be regulation”: Say which of the four, why that one reaches this problem, and what it will fail to reach. Everything else is a slogan.
Explain one reason why a voluntary code of ethics may fail to change an organisation's behaviour.
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Discuss whether new digital technologies should be governed by law or by industry self-regulation.
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.