EU AI Act
Also called: European Union Artificial Intelligence Act · Topic: Economic Data: Census, NSS, Surveys and Statistical Tools · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The EU AI Act (European Union Artificial Intelligence Act) is the European Union's law for regulating artificial intelligence. It follows a risk-based approach: the stricter rules apply to the uses of AI that can do the most harm. A few uses with unacceptable risk are banned outright. High-risk systems must meet strict duties before and after they are sold, such as risk checks, good-quality data, human oversight and record-keeping. Limited-risk and minimal-risk tools face lighter rules or none. The Act matters because it is a global benchmark: other countries, including India, compare their own AI rules against it.
Example
The Act puts AI used in education in the high-risk group. An example is a tool that grades students or decides who gets admission. An AI tutor sold to European schools must therefore pass these checks before use. Compare this with the 2026 debate on Google's classroom AI. There, schools had to decide for themselves whether to switch the tools on, and the vendor's settings ended up working as the policy.
Don't confuse with
- Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 (India): it protects personal data, including through verifiable parental consent for children's data. It does not sort AI systems by risk or regulate what an AI system does.
- India AI Governance Guidelines: these are guidance, not a law with penalties for each risk tier. They promote human-centric, responsible AI and treat children as a vulnerable group.