EU AI Act

The EU AI Act is the European Union’s comprehensive law for regulating artificial intelligence, the first of its kind at this scale. Rather than treating all AI the same, it sorts uses by risk: most everyday applications face light or no rules, while “high-risk” uses carry strict obligations.

High-risk covers AI used for things like hiring, credit scoring and other decisions that significantly affect people’s lives. Companies deploying such systems face requirements around transparency, oversight and data quality, with rules phasing in on a set timetable. Talk of possible delays surfaces from time to time, but businesses are generally advised not to bank on them.

The Act matters well beyond Europe, because global companies often adopt its standards everywhere rather than maintain separate systems, a pattern sometimes called the “Brussels effect”.