European Union: Entry into force with grace period of AI Act including testing requirement for "high-risk AI systems"

On 1 August 2024, the regulation laying down harmonised rules on Artificial Intelligence (Artificial Intelligence Act) enters into force, 20 days following its publication in the Official Journal, with a grace period on its implementation. 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 is generally implemented on 2 August 2026 after the lapse of the grace period, though some sections are subject to variable implementation periods. For high-risk AI systems as defined by Article 6(1), the Act only applies from 2 August 2027.