The EU AI Act Rolls Out as World’s First Major Suite of Laws Governing AI

The European Union’s sweeping AI reforms controlling the use of AI by businesses and governing bodies has officially come into force on Thursday, August 1, 2024.

“The adoption of the AI act is a significant milestone for the European Union.This landmark law, the first of its kind in the world, addresses a global technological challenge that also creates opportunities for our societies and economies. With the AI act, Europe emphasizes the importance of trust, transparency and accountability when dealing with new technologies while at the same time ensuring this fast-changing technology can flourish and boost European innovation,” said Mathieu Michel, Belgian secretary of state for digitisation, administrative simplification, privacy protection, and the building regulation.

A series of staggered compliance deadlines will now begin rolling out that the law will apply to different types of AI developers and applications. Most provisions will be fully applicable by mid-2026.

But the first deadline, which enforces bans on a small number of prohibited uses of AI in specific contexts, such as law enforcement use of remote biometrics in public places, will apply in just six months’ time.

Under the bloc’s approach, most applications of AI are considered low/no-risk so they will not be in scope of the regulation at all.

A subset of potential uses of AI are classified as high risk, such as biometrics and facial recognition, or AI used in domains like education and employment.

Systems used in these areas will have to be registered in an EU database and their developers will need to ensure compliance with risk and quality management obligations.

A third “limited risk” tier applies to AI technologies such as chatbots or tools that could be used to produce deepfakes. These will have to meet some transparency requirements to ensure users are not deceived.

Another important facet of the law applies to developers of general purpose AIs (GPAIs). The EU is taking a risk-based approach, with most GPAI developers facing light transparency requirements. Just a subset of the most powerful models will be expected to undertake risk assessment and mitigation measures, too.

What exactly GPAI developers will need to do to comply with the AI Act is still being discussed, as Codes of Practice are yet to be drawn up. The EU’s AI Office, a strategic oversight and AI-ecosystem building body, kicked off consultations and calls for participation in this rule-making process, saying it expects to finalize the Codes in April 2025.

While the EU AI Act officially comes into force on August 1, 2024, enterprises globally scaling AI operations have been feeling the reverberations from the legislation since its announcement, said Kevin Cochrane, CMO of Vultr.

“The EU AI Act has repercussions far beyond the jurisdiction of the EU. Rather than making reactive, one-off adjustments to AI operations each time new legislation is enacted, enterprises must proactively future-proof their organizations against what will soon be a rapidly evolving tangle of AI regulations,” Cochrane explained. “One way to do this is by committing to a platform engineering approach that prioritizes end-to-end model observability, data governance, privacy and residency. From the proprietary AI models developed in centers of excellence to inference operations in edge environments, embedding these principles is the key to operationalizing responsible AI and ensuring the efficiency of AI operations and compliance with existing and coming AI regulations.”

OneTrust is taking another approach, launching a prepared comprehensive compliance resource kit.  

Following the publication of the EU AI Act in the Official Journal of the European Union on July 12, 2024, the company prepared a comprehensive compliance resource kit. Crafted with insights from OneTrust and DataGuidance, this kit contains everything needed to understand and adhere to the EU AI Act.

Here’s what you’ll find inside:

• Navigating the EU AI Act eBook: A comprehensive overview of the Act and its requirements.
• EU AI Act Conformity Assessments eBook: A detailed guide on ensuring your AI systems meet the required standards.
• Top 10 Questions on the EU AI Act eBook: Answers to the most pressing questions about the legislation.
• EU AI Act Timeline Infographic: A visual representation of key dates and milestones.
• EU AI Act Overview Infographic: A concise summary of the Act’s main components.
• AI Governance Masterclass Webinar Recording: Expert insights and practical advice on the EU AI Act.

You can download the kit here.