From Law To Practice: The EU AI Act’s Implementation Challenges

A “no-regret” framework when it comes to AI Act compliance refers to practical actions organizations can take to ensure they stay compliant with AI Act requirements, even as additional guidance and technical standards continue to emerge. These include establishing an AI inventory, classifying AI systems by risk, identifying shadow AI, implementing governance structures, and strengthening risk management processes.

Yes, there’s no specific need for organizations to wait for every single standard and implementation guideline to be released before they initiate their compliance journey. Foundational activities such as identifying AI systems, assessing potential risk levels, assigning ownership, documenting AI use cases, and establishing governance processes can all be implemented as soon as possible.

This process can begin via the creation of a comprehensive inventory of AI systems and the evaluation of each use case against the AI Act’s risk-based framework. This initial classification helps in the prioritization of governance efforts, documentation, and risk management based on the potential regulatory obligations. While these obligations evolve as the guidance evolves, organizations can continuously refine these assessments while maintaining the structured approach to AI governance.