Welcome to ai-act-law.eu. Here you will find the PDF of Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) neatly arranged. The final text of the AI Act is available both in English and German. The Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 laying down harmonised rules on Artificial Intelligence will apply from 2 August 2026 with some exceptions (cf. Art. 113 AI Act).

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Chapter 1

Chapter 1General provisions

Art. 1 AI ActSubject matter

Art. 2 AI ActScope

Art. 3 AI ActDefinitions

Art. 4 AI ActAI literacy

Chapter 2Prohibited AI practices

Art. 5 AI ActProhibited AI Practices

Chapter 3High-risk AI systems

Section 1Classification of AI systems as high-risk

Art. 6 AI ActClassification rules for high-risk AI systems

Art. 7 AI ActAmendments to Annex III

Section 2Requirements for high-risk AI systems

Art. 8 AI ActCompliance with the requirements

Art. 9 AI ActRisk management system

Art. 10 AI ActData and data governance

Art. 11 AI ActTechnical documentation

Art. 12 AI ActRecord-keeping

Art. 13 AI ActTransparency and provision of information to deployers

Art. 14 AI ActHuman oversight

Art. 15 AI ActAccuracy, robustness and cybersecurity

Section 3Obligations of providers and deployers of high-risk AI systems and other parties

Art. 16 AI ActObligations of providers of high-risk AI systems

Art. 17 AI ActQuality management system

Art. 18 AI ActDocumentation keeping

Art. 19 AI ActAutomatically generated logs

Art. 20 AI ActCorrective actions and duty of information

Art. 21 AI ActCooperation with competent authorities

Art. 22 AI ActAuthorised representatives of providers of high-risk AI systems

Art. 23 AI ActObligations of importers

Art. 24 AI ActObligations of distributors

Art. 25 AI ActResponsibilities along the AI value chain

Art. 26 AI ActObligations of deployers of high-risk AI systems

Art. 27 AI ActFundamental rights impact assessment for high-risk AI systems

Section 4Notifying authorities and notified bodies

Art. 28 AI ActNotifying authorities

Art. 29 AI ActApplication of a conformity assessment body for notification

Art. 30 AI ActNotification procedure

Art. 31 AI ActRequirements relating to notified bodies

Art. 32 AI ActPresumption of conformity with requirements relating to notified bodies

Art. 33 AI ActSubsidiaries of notified bodies and subcontracting

Art. 34 AI ActOperational obligations of notified bodies

Art. 35 AI ActIdentification numbers and lists of notified bodies

Art. 36 AI ActChanges to notifications

Art. 37 AI ActChallenge to the competence of notified bodies

Art. 38 AI ActCoordination of notified bodies

Art. 39 AI ActConformity assessment bodies of third countries

Section 5Standards, conformity assessment, certificates, registration

Art. 40 AI ActHarmonised standards and standardisation deliverables

Art. 41 AI ActCommon specifications

Art. 42 AI ActPresumption of conformity with certain requirements

Art. 43 AI ActConformity assessment

Art. 44 AI ActCertificates

Art. 45 AI ActInformation obligations of notified bodies

Art. 46 AI ActDerogation from conformity assessment procedure

Art. 47 AI ActEU declaration of conformity

Art. 48 AI ActCE marking

Art. 49 AI ActRegistration

Chapter 4Transparency obligations for providers and deployers of certain AI systems

Art. 50 AI ActTransparency obligations for providers and deployers of certain AI systems

Chapter 5General-purpose AI models

Section 1Classification rules

Art. 51 AI ActClassification of general-purpose AI models as general-purpose AI models with systemic risk

Art. 52 AI ActProcedure

Section 2Obligations for providers of general-purpose AI models

Art. 53 AI ActObligations for providers of general-purpose AI models

Art. 54 AI ActAuthorised representatives of providers of general-purpose AI models

Section 3Obligations of providers of general-purpose AI models with systemic risk

Art. 55 AI ActObligations of providers of general-purpose AI models with systemic risk

Section 4Codes of practice

Art. 56 AI ActCodes of practice

Chapter 6Measures in support of innovation

Art. 57 AI ActAI regulatory sandboxes

Art. 58 AI ActDetailed arrangements for, and functioning of, AI regulatory sandboxes

Art. 59 AI ActFurther processing of personal data for developing certain AI systems in the public interest in the AI regulatory sandbox

Art. 60 AI ActTesting of high-risk AI systems in real world conditions outside AI regulatory sandboxes

Art. 61 AI ActInformed consent to participate in testing in real world conditions outside AI regulatory sandboxes

Art. 62 AI ActMeasures for providers and deployers, in particular SMEs, including start-ups

Art. 63 AI ActDerogations for specific operators

Chapter 7Governance

Section 1Governance at Union level

Art. 64 AI ActAI Office

Art. 65 AI ActEstablishment and structure of the European Artificial Intelligence Board

Art. 66 AI ActTasks of the Board

Art. 67 AI ActAdvisory forum

Art. 68 AI ActScientific panel of independent experts

Art. 69 AI ActAccess to the pool of experts by the Member States

Section 2National competent authorities

Art. 70 AI ActDesignation of national competent authorities and single points of contact

Chapter 8EU database for high-risk AI systems

Art. 71 AI ActEU database for high-risk AI systems listed in Annex III

Chapter 9Post-market monitoring, information sharing and market surveillance

Section 1Post-market monitoring

Art. 72 AI ActPost-market monitoring by providers and post-market monitoring plan for high-risk AI systems

Section 2Sharing of information on serious incidents

Art. 73 AI ActReporting of serious incidents

Section 3Enforcement

Art. 74 AI ActMarket surveillance and control of AI systems in the Union market

Art. 75 AI ActMutual assistance, market surveillance and control of general-purpose AI systems

Art. 76 AI ActSupervision of testing in real world conditions by market surveillance authorities

Art. 77 AI ActPowers of authorities protecting fundamental rights

Art. 78 AI ActConfidentiality

Art. 79 AI ActProcedure at national level for dealing with AI systems presenting a risk

Art. 80 AI ActProcedure for dealing with AI systems classified by the provider as non-high-risk in application of Annex III

Art. 81 AI ActUnion safeguard procedure

Art. 82 AI ActCompliant AI systems which present a risk

Art. 83 AI ActFormal non-compliance

Art. 84 AI ActUnion AI testing support structures

Section 4Remedies

Art. 85 AI ActRight to lodge a complaint with a market surveillance authority

Art. 86 AI ActRight to explanation of individual decision-making

Art. 87 AI ActReporting of infringements and protection of reporting persons

Section 5Supervision, investigation, enforcement and monitoring in respect of providers of general-purpose AI models

Art. 88 AI ActEnforcement of the obligations of providers of general-purpose AI models

Art. 89 AI ActMonitoring actions

Art. 90 AI ActAlerts of systemic risks by the scientific panel

Art. 91 AI ActPower to request documentation and information

Art. 92 AI ActPower to conduct evaluations

Art. 93 AI ActPower to request measures

Art. 94 AI ActProcedural rights of economic operators of the general-purpose AI model

Chapter 10Codes of conduct and guidelines

Art. 95 AI ActCodes of conduct for voluntary application of specific requirements

Art. 96 AI ActGuidelines from the Commission on the implementation of this Regulation

Chapter 11Delegation of power and committee procedure

Art. 97 AI ActExercise of the delegation

Art. 98 AI ActCommittee procedure

Chapter 12Penalties

Art. 99 AI ActPenalties

Art. 100 AI ActAdministrative fines on Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies

Art. 101 AI ActFines for providers of general-purpose AI models

Chapter 13Final provisions

Art. 102 AI ActAmendment to Regulation (EC) No 300/2008

Art. 103 AI ActAmendment to Regulation (EU) No 167/2013

Art. 104 AI ActAmendment to Regulation (EU) No 168/2013

Art. 105 AI ActAmendment to Directive 2014/90/EU

Art. 106 AI ActAmendment to Directive (EU) 2016/797

Art. 107 AI ActAmendment to Regulation (EU) 2018/858

Art. 108 AI ActAmendments to Regulation (EU) 2018/1139

Art. 109 AI ActAmendment to Regulation (EU) 2019/2144

Art. 110 AI ActAmendment to Directive (EU) 2020/1828

Art. 111 AI ActAI systems already placed on the market or put into service and general-purpose AI models already placed on the marked

Art. 112 AI ActEvaluation and review

Art. 113 AI ActEntry into force and application

What is the AI Act?

The AI Act is an EU regulation governing artificial intelligence. The purpose of the AI Act is to promote the uptake of human-centric AI in Europe while ensuring a high level of protection of health, safety and the fundamental rights of citizens (Article 1 AI Act). To this end, the law defines AI practices that are prohibited from the outset and such that are likely to involve a “high risk” and therefore require special diligence.

When does the AI Act enter into force?

The AI Act was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 12 July 2024. It enters into force 20 days after its publication on 1 August 2024. According to Article 113 of the AI Act the provisions for prohibited AI practices will apply 6 months after entry into force, while most other provisions apply after either 1 or 2 years. Requirements and obligations for high-risk AI systems apply after 3 years.

What types of AI are covered in the AI Act?

The AI Act distinguishes between 3 types of AI based on the risk they pose to the safety and fundamental rights of individuals. These 3 types are:

Prohibited AI systems (Article 5):
Some AI systems are incompatible with the values of the European Union and are therefore prohibited. These are, for example, those that predict future criminality of individuals.
High-risk AI systems (Article 6):
High-risk AI systems must meet strict requirements before their use is permitted. This includes, for example, AI in surgical robots.
AI systems with minimal or no risk:
The AI Act does not regulate AI systems with minimal risk. This category includes, for example, spam filters or AI-enabled video games.

Who is affected by the AI Act?

The AI Act applies to private organizations and public authorities and, according to Article 2 AI Act, affects five groups:

providers,
deployers,
importers and distributors,
product manufacturers and
affected persons.

The AI Act expressly does not apply to private individuals if they use AI systems for purely private (as opposed to professional) purposes. Additionally, there are further exemptions for systems used for the purpose of scientific research and development, the military, defense, and national security.

Where does the AI Act apply?

The AI Act applies in the European Union. Whether and when the AI Act will also apply to the EEA countries is still unclear, as they must agree to the adoption of EU regulations. In addition, the AI Act also applies in non-EU countries for providers or deployers of AI systems that place them on the market in the EU or if the output produced by the AI system is used in the EU.

What is high-risk AI?

According to Article 6 of the AI Act, high-risk AI is an AI system whose actual use poses a significant risk of harm to health, safety or a detrimental effect on the fundamental rights of individuals.

On the one hand, this is the case where they are used in products or their safety components that are already strictly regulated under EU law, such as safety components for lifts or medical devices. On the other hand, this is the case if they are used in a certain way in areas defined by Annex III of the regulation. These include biometrics, critical infrastructure, education and vocational training, employment, workers management, access to and enjoyment of essential services and benefits, law enforcement, migration, asylum and border control management, administration of justice and democratic processes. The EU Commission can adapt this list in order to react to new circumstances. Furthermore, it must provide a comprehensive list of practical examples of high-risk and non-high risk use cases of AI systems no later than 18 months after the AI Regulation has entered into force.

What is the definition of AI and what does it include?

AI is often understood as a combination of different technical approaches and methods aimed at enabling machines to mimic human cognitive abilities such as logical reasoning, learning, planning and creativity. A universally accepted definition has not yet been established and remains subject to controversial discussions.

The AI law also provides a definition. It defines AI as all machine-based systems that are designed to operate with varying degrees of autonomy, that may exhibit adaptiveness after deployment and that, for explicit or implicit objectives, infers, from the input it receives, how to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations, or decisions that can influence physical or virtual environments (Article 3 AI Act).

This definition of AI is very broad, as most of the criteria also apply to traditional software programs. The decisive factor in determining whether a system is considered AI is therefore usually whether it is designed for autonomous operation.

Why is AI dangerous? Is AI a threat?

AI can pose a threat to individuals by significantly influencing their behavior to their detriment. It can also be the cause of discrimination or other unjustified infringements on their fundamental rights. This can result in harm through significant adverse effects on their physical and mental health or financial interests. In Article 5 AI Act, the European legislator therefore describes practices that pose an unacceptable risk to individuals and are therefore prohibited in the EU. The list includes the following uses of AI systems:

Cognitive behavioral manipulation
Exploitation of a person’s situation, weakness or vulnerability
Social credit systems
Predictive policing in relation to individual persons
Scraping of facial images to create a facial recognition database
Emotion recognition in the workplace or educational institutions
Biometric categorization based on sensitive data as defined in Article 9 GDPR
Use of real-time remote biometric identification systems (facial recognition) in public for law enforcement purposes, except where strictly necessary for the offenses specified in the law.

The EU Commission will publish guidelines in which the prohibited practices will be defined in more detail. Additionally, it has the task of reviewing the list. The AI Office is involved in this process.

Artificial Intelligence Act AI Act