EU AI Act Quick Reference Guide
Everything you need to know about the EU AI Act in one place. Understand risk categories, compliance obligations, and implementation timelines.
Key Compliance Dates
What is the EU AI Act?
The EU AI Act is a risk-based regulatory framework that classifies AI systems into four categories based on the level of risk they pose to health, safety, and fundamental rights.
Unacceptable Risk
AI systems banned in the EU
Strict Compliance
Healthcare, education, employment, credit scoring, law enforcement
Transparency
Chatbots, emotion recognition, deepfakes, biometric categorization
No Requirements
Spam filters, AI in video games, inventory management
Annex III: High-Risk AI Categories
Eight areas where AI systems are automatically classified as high-risk
1. Biometrics
- Remote biometric identification
- Biometric categorization based on sensitive attributes
- Emotion recognition systems
2. Critical Infrastructure
- Safety components of critical infrastructure
- Road traffic management
- Water, gas, electricity supply systems
3. Education & Training
- Access determination to education institutions
- Assessment of students
- Proctoring and exam monitoring
4. Employment
- Recruitment and candidate screening
- Performance evaluation
- Task allocation and monitoring
5. Essential Services
- Credit scoring and creditworthiness
- Insurance risk assessment
- Emergency services dispatching
6. Law Enforcement
- Risk assessment of natural persons
- Polygraphs and similar tools
- Crime analytics and prediction
7. Migration & Asylum
- Visa application assessment
- Asylum claim evaluation
- Border control and security
8. Justice & Democracy
- Judicial decision assistance
- Electoral process influence
- Legal research and case outcome prediction
High-Risk AI Compliance Requirements
Six core obligations for high-risk AI system providers
Risk Management
Establish and maintain a continuous risk management system throughout the AI lifecycle.
Data Governance
Implement data quality criteria for training, validation, and testing datasets with bias assessment.
Technical Documentation
Maintain comprehensive technical documentation demonstrating compliance before market placement.
Record Keeping
Enable automatic logging of events for traceability and post-market monitoring.
Transparency
Provide clear instructions for use and information about system capabilities and limitations.
Human Oversight
Design systems to be effectively overseen by natural persons during use.
Penalties for Non-Compliance
Substantial fines for violations of the EU AI Act
or 7% Global Revenue
For prohibited AI practices
or 3% Global Revenue
For high-risk AI non-compliance
or 1.5% Global Revenue
For providing incorrect information
Need Help with EU AI Act Compliance?
Governum provides a comprehensive compliance platform to help you navigate the EU AI Act requirements.