The EU Artificial Intelligence Act entered into force on 1 August 2024, bringing with it rules for the development and use of artificial intelligence in Europe. The act also includes an obligation for EU member states to establish test environments for AI regulation, i.e. AI regulatory sandboxes to make it easier to develop AI and comply with new regulations. Haaga-Helia is involved in the development of AI regulatory sandboxes through the EUSAir project.
A survey now open is used to map the needs of companies and other organisations. Take part in the survey and influence the development of AI regulatory sandboxes. Together we can create a safe and innovative environment for the development of AI solutions! Thank you in advance for your input.
What are AI regulatory sandboxes?
The AI Act provides organisations with the opportunity to test the compliance of their AI solutions in an isolated AI regulatory sandbox, where the competent authority provides guidance and support on the requirements and obligations of the Regulation and how to fulfil them, and assesses the compliance of the solution.
AI regulatory sandboxes provide developers and deployers of AI solutions with a controlled environment to develop, test, and validate innovations before they are brought to market. The use of an AI regulatory sandbox is not mandatory, but by utilizing the sandbox, it is possible for a company to gain greater legal certainty and immunity from penalty payments. Successful testing provides a written certificate and a final report, which speeds up the launch and deployment of the AI solution.
The information collected through the survey on the needs of companies will be utilised in the drafting of legislation
The development of national AI regulatory sandboxes started in autumn 2024. First, an overall picture of AI development and companies' visions and needs will be compiled. This needs analysis is carried out in the form of surveys to explore technical, legal and development aspects of AI regulatory sandboxes. The results of the survey will be utilised in the legislative drafting of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.
By participating in the survey, you can influence the development of the AI regulatory sandbox and ensure that it serves your organization's needs in the best possible way. Together we can create a safe and innovative environment for the development of AI solutions in Finland and throughout Europe!
The survey is open until 4 December 2024 at 23.45.
Respond to the survey about AI sandboxes here
AI regulatory sandbox background
The EU Artificial Intelligence Act entered into force on 1.8.2024. The aim of the act is to ensure that AI is developed and used responsibly in Europe. The safety, reliability and fundamental rights of EU citizens of AI applications will be safeguarded on the basis of risk classification. Use cases are classified according to the level of risk, which affects the obligations and sanctions of the applicators:
- Unacceptable risk (Prohibited uses): E.g. malicious subconscious technologies, exploitation of vulnerable groups, social scoring, real-time remote biometric identification systems in public spaces for law enforcement purposes.
- High risk AI systems: E.g. recruitment, performance assessment, student evaluation.
- Limited risk AI systems: Transparency requirements, e.g. use of human-interacting AI systems.
- In addition, requirements will be imposed on developers of AI models, for example to compile and make publicly available a sufficiently detailed summary of the content used to train the AI model.
Violations of the regulation can result in fines of up to €35 million or 7% of a company's annual worldwide turnover.
In Finland, a working group consisting of several ministries is responsible for the implementation of the EU Regulation on Artificial Intelligence (TEM044:00/2024). The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment is the responsible ministry, but due to the many links between the Artificial Intelligence Act and privacy protection, consumer protection and copyright, other administrative branches will also participate in the national implementation.
The development and implementation will take into account joint European projects related to AI regulation (e.g. the EUSAir project), as well as the views of national stakeholders.
Research ethics practices
The research follows the ethical rules of research and all responses are collected anonymously. Also, no unique information should be entered in the free text fields. The collected data will not be disclosed to anyone other than those participating in the development and research of the AI regulatory sandbox.
