Need to know: How AI Act sets tone for AI regulation
By 
Neil Hodge2024-04-01T13:22:00
The world’s first major piece of legislation for regulating artificial intelligence (AI) moved another step forward.
On March 13, European Parliament approved the AI Act, which aims to regulate the technology based on its capacity to cause harm. The act follows a risk-based approach: the higher the risk, the stricter the rules.
The legislation—which aims to ensure “trustworthy” AI—provides developers and users with clear requirements and obligations regarding specific uses of the technology.
The rules are meant to increase transparency about the way AI is used, when it is used, what data the technology uses to produce results and make decisions, and to prevent harmful outcomes.
There are four risk categories.
Related articles
-
PremiumPace of innovation will make EU AI Act hard to enforce, experts say
Concerns about how robustly European member states may enforce the EU AI Act, which took effect on Aug. 1, are divided between if regulators will take a “light touch” approach or a sledgehammer for noncompliance. One thing’s for sure, the pace of AI innovation will make enforcement very difficult.
-
PremiumIntersection of compliance, IT one of opportunity
With senior-level decisions on technology only increasing in frequency as new tools rapidly evolve, a panel at Compliance Week’s 2024 National Conference agreed compliance must consider the opportunities available to influence those conversations.
-
PremiumAI expert at CW2024: Why AI needs compliance
If there was one takeaway Diana Kelley offered during her keynote address at Compliance Week’s 2024 National Conference, it was that artificial intelligence tools—especially generative AI—need compliance.
More from Regulatory Policy
-
PremiumEU moves to simplify GDPR and AI Act obligations, raising compliance questions for companies
For the past decade, Europe has led in creating strong but flexible rules for data use and safe AI development. The EU’s new plans to simplify key data privacy and AI governance measures have received a mixed response.
-
News BriefSEC exam priorities for 2026 signal heightened focus on firmwide compliance
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Examinations released its 2026 examination priorities, which give companies a roadmap of areas of heightened risk and regulatory focus for next year.
-
ArticlePharma sector boom puts pressure on compliance to counter financial crime
Regulation is a matter of life and death in the pharmaceutical industry. Rules to combat practices that can kill have been in force for decades, but tech developments are rapidly creating new risks and focusing lawmakers’ attention on areas where some compliance teams may lack experience.