EU AI Act compliance

What is the EU AI Act?

The EU AI Act is the world’s first comprehensive AI-specific regulation. It categorizes AI systems based on risk level—ranging from minimal to unacceptable—and enforces requirements based on that classification.

Key risk categories:

• Unacceptable risk: Banned (e.g., social scoring)
• High risk: Requires strict compliance (e.g., AI in hiring, healthcare, law enforcement)
• Limited risk: Requires transparency notices (e.g., chatbots)
• Minimal risk: No obligations

Why it matters in AI/ML

AI systems operating in or interacting with the EU must adhere to the regulation—or face penalties. The act:

• Requires extensive documentation and model testing
• Introduces mandatory risk assessments
• Demands transparency in data use and model outputs

For high-risk systems, non-compliance can lead to fines up to 6% of global annual revenue.

Key requirements for compliance

1. Risk and impact assessment

• Identify whether your system qualifies as high-risk
• Document use case, model inputs, outputs, and potential harms

2. Data governance and quality

• Ensure training data is relevant, representative, and auditable
• Detect and mitigate bias

3. Testing and monitoring

• Implement continuous testing pre- and post-deployment
• Track performance, drift, and explainability

4. Transparency and human oversight

• Provide clear user disclosures
• Maintain the ability for human intervention in automated decisions

Related

• AI compliance and governance
• AI compliance certification
• Model validation
• Data quality monitoring
• Data quality monitoring dashboard

EU AI Act compliance is more than a checklist—it’s a framework for building responsible, high-integrity AI systems.