Compliance Glossary
The EU AI Act introduces strict legal definitions that differ from general technical jargon. Understanding these terms is critical for determining your compliance liabilities.
AI System
A machine-based system designed to operate with varying levels of autonomy, that may exhibit adaptiveness after deployment and that, for explicit or implicit objectives, infers, from the input it receives, how to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations, or decisions that can influence physical or virtual environments.
Ref: Article 3(1)Authorized Representative
Any natural or legal person established in the Union who has received a written mandate from a provider of an AI system to perform and carry out the obligations and procedures established by this Regulation on their behalf.
Ref: Article 3(5)Biometric Identification System
An AI system for the purpose of identifying natural persons at a distance through the comparison of a person's biometric data with the biometric data contained in a reference database.
Ref: Article 3(36)Conformity Assessment
The process demonstrating whether the requirements set out in Chapter III, Section 2 of this Regulation relating to a high-risk AI system have been fulfilled.
Ref: Article 3(20)Deployer
Any natural or legal person, public authority, agency, or other body using an AI system under its authority, except where the AI system is used in the course of a personal non-professional activity.
Ref: Article 3(4)Distributor
Any natural or legal person in the supply chain, other than the provider or the importer, that makes an AI system available on the Union market.
Ref: Article 3(7)Emotion Recognition System
An AI system for the purpose of identifying or inferring emotions or intentions of natural persons on the basis of their biometric data.
Ref: Article 3(39)General Purpose AI Model (GPAI)
An AI model, including where such an AI model is trained with a large amount of data using self-supervision at scale, that displays significant generality and is capable of competently performing a wide range of distinct tasks regardless of the way the model is placed on the market.
Ref: Article 3(63)High-Risk AI System
An AI system that creates a high risk to the health and safety or fundamental rights of natural persons, classified under Article 6 (and listed in Annexes I and III) and thus subject to mandatory compliance requirements.
Ref: Article 6Importer
Any natural or legal person established in the Union that places on the market an AI system that bears the name or trademark of a natural or legal person established in a third country.
Ref: Article 3(6)Post-Market Monitoring
All activities carried out by providers of AI systems to collect and review experience gained from the use of AI systems they place on the market or put into service for the purpose of identifying any need to immediately apply any necessary corrective or preventive actions.
Ref: Article 3(25)Provider
A natural or legal person, public authority, agency, or other body that develops an AI system or a general-purpose AI model and places it on the market or puts it into service under its own name or trademark.
Ref: Article 3(2)Substantial Modification
A change to an AI system after its placing on the market or putting into service which affects the compliance of the AI system with the requirements set out in this Regulation or results in a modification to the intended purpose for which the AI system has been assessed.
Ref: Article 3(23)