The EU Act is now officially in force, marking a milestone in technology governance.
1 August 2024
Today, the world’s first major piece of AI legislation comes into effect. The EU AI Act isn’t only a significant document in its own right; it’s a test case. Can lawmakers succeed in setting guardrails for disruptive technologies without strangling the golden goose of innovation?
The bill is designed to assuage people’s reservations and fears about AI by hardcoding ethical limits to its use. It sorts AI use cases into four risk categories: Unacceptable, High, Limited and Minimal.
The Act places the greatest responsibilities on providers of AI tools. But anyone who uses AI-based systems in European markets is still affected by this legislation. Alignment to these new standards is not optional. But they shouldn’t stop you from benefiting from the huge competitive edge that AI grants organisations of all stripes. We still foresee great applications for AI in legal services.
As the creators of an AI-driven immigration and global mobility platform, we welcome this legislation. This new discipline is too powerful to be left to the unchecked discretion of those most able to monetise it. Recognising the adverse potentials of self-optimising technologies is not anti-progress; quite the opposite. It ensures that human innovation serves human ends.
Given that the use of AI in immigration and people management falls into the Act’s High-Risk category, we expect many of our own platform’s core functions to be affected. As the 24-month transition period elapses, the specifics of compliance will become clearer and clearer. We will place the bill’s provisions under continuous review throughout this time to rigorously ensure and prove our compliance.
It’s our job to guide businesses through legal ambiguities. That’s why we will keep our readers and clients informed on their precise compliance responsibilities under the AI Act.
As a first step, we’ll be releasing a report on how the Act impacts global mobility departments and immigration legal services. The document will analyse the Act’s key principles and provisions, identify grey areas and provide active steps for businesses to stay compliant. Readers will learn how to set up process reviews for their AI use cases, mitigate risks and manage their systems in line with the new rules.
If you want to be the first to read it, sign up here to get the report in your inbox the moment it’s released.
