{"id":1037,"date":"2025-09-01T14:04:19","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T12:04:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metalab.be\/?p=1037"},"modified":"2025-09-06T13:45:30","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T11:45:30","slug":"what-is-the-eu-ai-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metalab.be\/en\/wat-is-de-eu-ai-act\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the EU AI Act and are you ready for it?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>The <strong>EU AI Act<\/strong> is the first comprehensive legislation around artificial intelligence in Europe. It lays down how companies may use AI, what risks they must assess and how transparency is ensured. For companies already working with tools such as <strong>Microsoft Copilot<\/strong> or <strong>ChatGPT<\/strong> it is important to know now what is changing.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:64px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why this legislation is coming<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The intention of the EU AI Act is not to stifle innovation, but to ensure that AI on a <strong>safe and reliable way<\/strong> is used. Consider:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Protection of personal data<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fair decisions in HR and lending<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Transparency towards customers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:32px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What does this mean for your business?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many companies are already using AI today, often without any procedures around it. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>An employee test <strong>ChatGPT<\/strong> for writing customer emails<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>HR looks at how <strong>Copilot<\/strong> can help with cover letters<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Administration uses AI to sort documents faster<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These are not \u201chigh-risk applications\u201d like medical AI or autonomous vehicles. But there <strong>do come obligations<\/strong> around documentation, transparency and conscious use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:32px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The first step: AI literacy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since <strong>February 2025<\/strong> it is mandatory for companies to make their employees AI-literate. Why? Because you can only create correct procedures if your team understands:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What AI can do and where the limits are<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What are the risks of misuse<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>How Shadow AI (uncontrolled use by employees) is avoided<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AI literacy ensures your employees Copilot and ChatGPT <strong>safe and efficient<\/strong> use, without unnecessary privacy or compliance risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:32px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What will change in 2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From <strong>August 2026<\/strong> come additional obligations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Documentation<\/strong> of which AI tools you use<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Risk assessments<\/strong> for applications impacting customers or employees<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Transparency<\/strong>: users need to know when they are dealing with AI<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For a company, this mainly means using AI <strong>visible and manageable<\/strong> should be. Uncontrolled experimentation with ChatGPT, Copilot or other AI tools could then cause problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:32px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to prepare smartly<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Make sure your team is AI literate<\/strong> - that is already mandatory.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Create an overview of all AI tools<\/strong> circulating in your company.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Set basic guidelines<\/strong>: which tools may be used and for what.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Prepare procedures<\/strong> so that you are in order with documentation and transparency by August 2026.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:32px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The key message<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The EU AI Act is not a brake, but an opportunity: it requires companies to use AI consciously, safely and strategically. For companies working with Copilot, ChatGPT or other tools, the biggest gain is that employees understand what they are doing and how to avoid risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AI literacy is the basis for this.<\/strong> From there, you can easily take the next steps towards compliance. This way, you not only stay in regulation, but also get the most out of AI in your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:32px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How we help you<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At <strong>Metalab Academy<\/strong> We support companies with hands-on <strong>AI literacy workshops<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Practical sessions tailored to your sector<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In Dutch, French or English<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Focused on safe and smart application of AI in your business<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition, we also help you prepare procedures towards 2026 so that you become compliant step by step and without stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is the EU AI Act and what does it mean for companies working with Copilot or ChatGPT. Learn why AI literacy has been mandatory since 2025, what new rules will follow in 2026.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":865,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalab.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalab.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalab.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalab.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalab.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1037"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/metalab.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1037\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1061,"href":"https:\/\/metalab.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1037\/revisions\/1061"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalab.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalab.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalab.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalab.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1037"}],"curies":[{"name":"WordPress","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}