AI Act

The AI Act is a European law that sets standards for the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) systems. It also provides rights to individuals interacting with these systems.

The main objective of the regulation is to ensure that AI systems used by organisations in the EU are safe and uphold fundamental rights, regardless of where they are developed. AI systems are classified into categories, each with corresponding regulatory requirements. The category of an AI system determines whether it is subject to strict, moderate, or no rules. risk categories

Organisations that develop and deploy AI will have clear guidelines on the standards their systems must meet in Europe. Organisations that use AI can rely on these systems being dependable and high quality. Individuals interacting with AI will have better protection under the rights and requirements set out in the AI Act.

For whom?

The AI Act affects developers of AI models and systems, as well as organisations that use them. It imposes explicit obligations on developers and users of high-risk AI systems. Developers of AI systems that directly interact with citizens, such as chatbots and deepfakes, must improve transparency. Some AI applications are prohibited. Furthermore, requirements are set for developers of significant language models and other versatile models.

Risk categories

The AI Act distinguishes among various risk categories. These are:

1. Prohibited practices: AI systems used for harmful manipulation or unjust social scoring are considered to pose unacceptable risks.
2. High-risk: AI systems for biometric identification and categorisation, for evaluating candidates for a vacancy, for use in critical infrastructure, or for admitting students to education are considered high risk to fundamental rights, safety and health. This also includes assessing whether individuals qualify for essential public services and subsidies, such as benefits. AI systems that serve as safety components in EU-regulated products, such as lifts and medical equipment, are also considered high-risk.
3. Deception risks: AI systems that generate content must disclose when it is AI-generated or manipulated, including deepfakes.

Obligations

The AI Act also imposes obligations on the creators of large AI models. For the largest models, it is required to identify and mitigate system risks. Additionally, copyright protection must be ensured for all these models. Adequate information must also be provided to enable developers of new AI to comply with this regulation’s requirements. This ensures that everyone can trust the building blocks of secure AI systems.

Minimal risk AI

Many AI systems are not regulated. For AI that does not fall into any of the above categories, there are no requirements, as the risks are low or nonexistent. However, developers or organisations may establish and adhere to voluntary codes of conduct.

Supervision

Compliance with prohibitions on AI, requirements for high-risk AI systems, and transparency obligations is monitored by national regulators. The commitments for large AI models are overseen at the European level by the European AI Office.

Decision-making tool

Would you like to know whether the AI Act applies to an application used by your government organisation and what requirements you need to meet? Then see this practical AI Act Decision-making tool (Dutch, though linked to English-language content). The tool provides insights based on a series of questions. At the end of the decision support, you can export the results as a report. Any comments that provide context for a choice will be included in this report.

Entry into force