On 14 June 2023, the European Parliament voted to move forward with the EU AI Act, which was previously voted through by European Committees on 11 May 2023. First proposed on 21 April 2021, the Act, formally known as Harmonised Rules on Artificial Intelligence, seeks to lead the world in AI regulation and create an ‘ecosystem of trust’ that manages AI risk and prioritises human rights in the development and deployment of AI. The first sweeping legislation of its kind, the Act will have implications for countless AI systems used in the EU – and the countdown for compliance has begun.

In this blog post, we give a high-level overview of what businesses need to know about who the AI Act will affect, how it will regulate AI in the EU, obligations for high-risk systems, and how you can start to prepare.