EU AI Act – Introduction
Regulation (EU) 2024/1689
The EU Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) is the world's first comprehensive regulation for Artificial Intelligence. The regulation entered into force on 1 August 2024 and will become fully applicable by 2 August 2027 in phases.
BAUER GROUP Guiding Principle
This documentation serves external regulatory completeness. Internally: every AI system undergoes a Go/No-Go assessment before EU market entry. If compliance effort is disproportionate to expected revenue, the product will not be offered in the EU single market. The AI Act addresses AI systems — not software in general.
Distinction from the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA)
| Criterion | CRA (Reg. 2024/2847) | AI Act (Reg. 2024/1689) |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Products with digital elements | AI systems |
| Focus | Cybersecurity | Safety, fundamental rights, transparency |
| Approach | Product safety (CE) | Risk-based (4 tiers) |
| Reporting | ENISA (24h/72h/14d) | Market surveillance + EU database |
| Existing docs | cra.docs.bauer-group.com | This documentation |
Core Principles
The AI Act follows a risk-based approach with four risk tiers:
- Unacceptable risk (prohibited) — Art. 5
- High risk (strictly regulated) — Art. 6–49, Annex I + III
- Limited risk (transparency obligations) — Art. 50
- Minimal risk (unregulated) — no specific obligations
Extraterritorial Applicability
The AI Act applies to:
- Providers who place AI systems on the EU market — regardless of their place of establishment
- Deployers who professionally use AI systems within the EU
- Importers and distributors in the AI value chain
- Third-country providers whose AI system output is used within the EU
Documentation Structure
This documentation is structured in 10 chapters + appendix and is available in DE/EN/ZH. It forms the regulatory counterpart to the existing CRA documentation and addresses all obligations arising from the AI Act for BAUER GROUP as provider and deployer of AI-powered systems.