On 21 May 2024, the Council of the European Union adopted the regulation laying down harmonised rules on Artificial Intelligence (Artificial Intelligence Act). The Act includes testing requirements for "high-risk AI systems" as part of the requirement to implement risk management measures for such systems (Art. 9). Specifically, developers must test high-risk AI systems in order to identify the most effective risk management measures to ensure that such systems consistently perform their intended purpose and that they comply with the Act's requirements. Tests should be performed prior to such systems being made available on the market, not going beyond what is necessary to achieve testing purposes and remaining within defined testing metrics. Further, the Regulation provides for the possibility of conducting testing in real-world conditions, i.e. outside of regulatory sandboxes, under certain conditions. The Act will come into effect 20 days following its publication in the Official Journal and will be implemented 24 months after it enters into force. Chapters I and II will apply 6 months after the Act's effective date. Chapter III Section 4, Chapter V, Chapter VII, Chapter XII, and Article 78 will be implemented 12 months after the Act comes into effect.
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