AI Act (EU): Understanding the European regulation on AI

In 2024, the European Union adopted the first global legal framework on artificial intelligence: the AI Act. This AI regulation, also called European AI regulation, aims to protect citizens from abusive AI uses while fostering responsible innovation. Comparable to the GDPR for data, it is a global reference.

What is the AI Act (EU)?

The AI Act, adopted in 2024 and gradually applicable until 2027, is the first global regulation on artificial intelligence. It is based on a risk-based classification: the higher the risk of an AI system, the stricter the regulation.

Main principles:

• Targeted bans: social scoring by governments, real-time facial recognition in public spaces, psychological manipulation or exploitation of vulnerable people.
• High-risk AI regulation: health, education, employment, justice, security… They must be certified, documented, and supervised by a human.
• Transparency for certain AI: chatbots or content generators must clearly inform the user.
• Innovation preserved: low- or zero-risk AI (e.g., video games, anti-spam filters) are not constrained.

Why did the EU adopt an AI law?

The rapid growth of AI raises questions about rights, security, and trust. The European AI regulation aims to, among other things:

• Protect citizens against privacy breaches, discrimination, or abusive surveillance.
• Create trust by imposing more transparency (e.g., users must know when they interact with AI).
• Encourage innovation through regulatory sandboxes for real-world testing.
• Unify rules across Europe and give the EU a global leadership role.

In France (and the EU), the AI Act is part of a national strategy supporting AI while ensuring an ethical and secure framework. The AI law applies directly without national transposition, while being integrated into France’s AI strategy.

What are the risk categories and obligations?

The AI Act distinguishes four levels:

1. Unacceptable risk (prohibited)

• Social scoring by public authorities.
• Real-time facial recognition in public spaces (except in specific cases).
• Abusive exploitation of vulnerabilities (children, vulnerable persons).

2. High risk (strictly regulated)

• AI in critical domains: health, justice, employment, education, security.
• Requirements: CE marking, complete technical documentation, risk and data management, traceability, human oversight, robustness, and cybersecurity.

3. Limited risk (transparency obligation): Obvious examples include chatbots and deepfakes, which must be clearly identified as artificial.

4. Minimal or no risk (no constraint): The majority of everyday AI (video games, anti-spam filters).

Who is concerned by the AI regulation?

The scope of the AI Act is broad:

• All European companies and public authorities that develop, import, or use AI.
• Non-EU actors if their products are used in Europe (extraterritorial scope, like the GDPR).
• Providers of general-purpose AI models (e.g., large generative models) with transparency and security obligations.

Even a French start-up using AI in recruitment must comply if its tool is classified as “high-risk.”

What impact for businesses?

In France and across the EU, the AI Act France applies to all organizations developing, importing, or using AI systems.

• Inventory their AI and determine the risk level.
• Prepare compliance for high-risk AI (documentation, CE marking, risk management systems, human oversight).
• Ensure transparency: explicit notice when a user interacts with AI or receives generated content.
• Guarantee robustness and cybersecurity of systems.

Support tools (guides, checklists, regulatory sandboxes allowing companies to test products in a temporarily relaxed legal framework under competent authority supervision) are provided by the European Commission and, in France, by the Directorate General for Enterprises (DGE).

What are the key dates of the AI Act?

• August 1, 2024: entry into force.
• February 2, 2025: effective ban on unacceptable-risk AI.
• August 2, 2025: application of rules for general-purpose AI models.
• August 2, 2026: mandatory compliance for high-risk AI.
• August 2, 2027: extension to AI embedded in certain products (toys, medical devices, machines).

What the AI Act changes for the general public

For users, the AI law provides:

• More transparency: obligation for chatbots, deepfakes, and generated content to be clearly labeled.
• Increased protection: prohibition of intrusive or discriminatory uses.
• Enhanced safety: medical, judicial, or employment-related AI will be tested and certified.
• Controlled innovation: thanks to sandboxes, new services can emerge without compromising citizens’ rights.

Which AI tools help comply with the AI Act?

The AI Act does not aim to slow innovation but to encourage responsible and transparent AI use. For professionals and the public, using reliable and compliant solutions is essential.

At Bluescribe, we develop AI tools designed to improve your content while following best practices:

• Detect AI text: identify if content was generated by AI.
• Humanize AI text: rewrite content to make it more natural and engaging.
• Detect & Humanize AI text: combine analysis and rewriting to ensure authenticity and quality.
• Advanced tools: rewriting, automatic summary, SEO optimization, spellchecker, HTML code generator, etc.

These solutions help you create, optimize, and secure your content while staying aligned with new European AI requirements.

Conclusion: The AI Act imposes an important balance

The AI Act, this European AI regulation adopted by the EU, establishes a balance between innovation and fundamental rights protection. It imposes new obligations on companies but also provides a clear, harmonized framework. For the public, it guarantees transparency and safety in daily AI use.

In short, the AI Act transforms how Europe conceives and regulates AI: a responsible, secure, and innovative digital future.