AI Pact

The AI Act entered into force on August 1, 2024. Some provisions of the AI Act are already fully applicable. However, some requirements on the high-risk AI systems and other provisions will only be applicable at the end of a transitional period (ie., the time between entry into force and date of applicability). 

In this context, the Commission is promoting the AI Pact, to help stakeholders prepare for the implementation of the AI Act. The AI Pact, is structured around two pillars.

Pillar I: gathering and exchanging with the AI Pact network

Pillar I is open to all stakeholders (including, but not limited to, companies, non-for-profit organisations, academics, civil servants, etc). Under Pillar I, participants contribute to the creation of a collaborative community, sharing their experiences and knowledge. This includes webinars organised by the AI Office which provide participants with a better understanding of the AI Act, their responsibilities and how to prepare for its implementation. In turn, the AI Office gathers insights into best practices and challenges faced by the participants.

In this context, participants can share best practices and internal policies that may be of use to others in their compliance journey. Depending on participants’ preferences, these best practices may also be published online in a platform where the AI Office will share information on the AI Act’s implementation process.

Pillar II: facilitating and communicating company pledges

The purpose of this pillar is to provide a framework to foster the early implementation of some of the measures of the AI Act. This initiative encourages organisations to proactively disclose the processes and practices they are implementing to anticipate compliance. Specifically, companies providing or deploying AI systems can demonstrate and share their voluntary commitments towards transparency and high-risk requirements and prepare early on for their implementation.

The commitments take the form of pledges which are ‘declarations of engagement’. These pledges contain concrete actions (planned or underway) to meet the AI Act’s distinct requirements and include a timeline for their adoption. Such declarations of engagement can also take the form of incremental objectives. To adhere to the voluntary pledges, please reach out to EU-AI-PACT@ec.europa.eu.

The AI Office regularly organises events under both Pillars. To stay updated and register, visit the AI Pact Events webpage.

Interested to be an active stakeholder in the AI Pact? Join the initiative! It is open to all stakeholders.

Your organisation has already produced internal guidelines or processes to ensure the design, development and use of trustworthy AI systems? Share and test them with the AI Pact community!

Signature of the pledges

On 25 September 2024, the Commission convened key industry stakeholders in Brussels to celebrate the first signatories of the pledges. To date, around 200 companies have signed the pledges, including large corporations, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) from the EU and beyond. These companies represent diverse sectors, including IT, telecoms, healthcare, banking, automotive, and aeronautics. The full list is displayed below.

The EU AI Pact voluntary pledges call on participating companies to commit to at least three core actions:

• Adopting an AI governance strategy to foster the uptake of AI in the organisation and work towards future compliance with the AI Act
• Identifying and mapping AI systems likely to be categorised as high-risk under the AI Act
• Promoting AI awareness and literacy among staff, ensuring ethical and responsible AI development

Over half of these companies have pledged additional AI Pact commitments, such as human oversight, risk mitigation, and transparency in AI-generated content like deep fakes. These are linked to obligations introduced by the AI Act concerning transparency and requirements for high-risk AI systems.

The text of the pledges (.pdf), initially drafted by the AI Office, was shared with the relevant stakeholders in the AI Pact network to gather feedback and insights. As a result, the final version of the pledges reflects the input received from stakeholders. These pledges are not legally binding and do not impose any legal obligations on participants. Companies will be able to sign them at any moment until the AI Act fully applies.

Participating companies will be invited to publicly report on their progress 12 months after the publication of their commitments. The primary purpose of the report is to offer insights and transparency into the progress made on fulfilling these pledges.

What are the benefits of the voluntary pledges for participants?

The Commission is working together with the participants and supporting them in:

• building a common understanding of the objectives of the AI Act

• taking concrete actions to understand, adapt and prepare for the future implementation of the AI Act (e.g. build internal processes, prepare staff and self-assess AI systems)

• sharing knowledge and increasing the visibility and credibility of the safeguards put in place to demonstrate trustworthy AI

• building additional trust in AI technologies

The Pact is allowing front-runners and ambitious participants to test and share their solutions with the wider community, while fostering the development and deployment of trustworthy AI.