The new rules that will govern the development, marketing and use of artificial intelligence systems in the EU have finally been published in the EU Official Journal on 12 July 2024 with the Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (the so-called AI Act) and will enter into force in less than twenty days.
The time to synchronise the clocks has therefore arrived and, from the scheduled entry into force on 2 August next, the timetable will start with a series of intermediate stages between now and the next three years for the full implementation of the entire Regulation.
| 20 days after publication in the EU Journal (2 August 2024) | Entry into force of the Regulation |
| 6 months after entry into force (2 February 2025) | Application of bans on prohibited practices |
| 9 months after entry into force (2 May 2025) | Application of codes of practice |
| 12 months after entry into force (2 August 2025) | Application of general-purpose AI rules including governance as well as the provisions on penalties |
| 24 months after entry into force (2 August 2026) | Application of all AI Act regulations, including parts of the obligations for high-risk systems (list of high-risk use cases) |
| 36 months after entry into force (2 August 2027) | Application of the obligations for high-risk AI systems |
Getting ready for the AI Act should be viewed as one of the governances steps a company needs to follow when dealing with the advancement and implementation of AI systems. For instance, the French data protection authority (the "CNIL") released a Q&A proposing that combining the risk assessment of AI systems under the AI Act with the Data Privacy Impact Assessment under GDPR, into a single document could help streamline processes and reduce unnecessary formalities.
In general, it's crucial for businesses to promptly and carefully assess how the AI Act will influence their operations and get ready, for the changes that AI will introduce to all aspects of their business activities.