Spain: Announced Royal Decree for the AI Sandbox Proposal to implement testing requirements under the EU's AI Act

On 29 May 2023, the Spanish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation introduced a draft Royal Decree for the establishment of a controlled environment for testing compliance with the European Union (EU)'s proposed Regulation for laying down harmonised rules for Artificial Intelligence (AI Act). The test environment, referred to as the "AI Sandbox Proposal", was established in collaboration with the European Commission as a test for implementing requirements for high-risk AI systems outlined under the AI Act. The controlled environment will study compliance, self-assessment, and supervision of participants' high-risk AI systems, with the objective of producing technical guides and conclusions for assisting future compliance. Access to the testing environment would be limited to AI system providers residing or having a permanent establishment in Spain. The monitoring and evaluation of the Sandbox will be ongoing as the AI Act is still undergoing legislative processes.