The Urgent Need for AI Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) Driven by the EU AI Act:

On August 1st, 2024, the EU AI Act officially came into effect, marking a significant milestone in the regulation of Artificial Intelligence (AI). This act is designed to protect consumers in the EU from the risks posed by AI while ensuring that AI systems are safe, transparent, and secure throughout their entire lifecycle. With multiple compliance deadlines approaching, businesses must take immediate action to prepare for these AI regulations, especially as the penalties for non-compliance are steep.

Key Deadlines for AI Compliance Under the EU AI Act:

One of the most pressing deadlines is February 2nd, 2025, when certain AI practices, such as facial recognition and human manipulation, will be prohibited. Following closely is the August 2nd, 2025, deadline, when general-purpose AI obligations will take effect. From this point forward, enterprises must ensure their AI systems comply with the stringent requirements outlined by the EU AI Act or face fines of up to €15 million or 3% of global turnover whichever is higher.

The Importance of AI Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC):

To navigate these complex regulations, businesses must establish robust AI Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) frameworks. The EU AI Act covers the entire lifecycle of AI systems—from design and development to deployment and live monitoring and compliance reporting. Companies must ensure that their AI operations are aligned with the act’s strict guidelines, especially when dealing with high-risk AI systems in regulated industries such as financial services or medical devices.

How Financial Institutions Can Prepare for AI Audits:

Financial institution deployers, in particular, need to pay close attention to the act’s onerous requirements for high-risk AI systems. The EU AI Act mandates that national authorities oversee these systems to ensure they comply with regulations. TBC by the national regulators is how much a deployer can modify an AI system before they are considered providers of an AI system . This brings much more onerous oversights and audits , these audits will be rigorous, covering everything from data usage and transparency to the ethical implications of AI decision-making for the last six months.

Real-Time AI Monitoring Solutions for IT teams:

At Inspeq, we provide a comprehensive RAIOps framework that enables businesses to govern, monitor, and mitigate the risks associated with AI. Our real-time AI monitoring solutions ensure that AI systems are not only compliant with the EU AI Act but are also safe, transparent, and explainable. By leveraging explainable AI and responsible AI principles, Inspeq helps businesses establish robust AI governance practices that drive safe innovation while eliminating the risk of non-compliance by notifying IT teams of any AI issues in real time.

Historical AI Data Solutions for Compliance teams:

At Inspeq, we also provide full audit trail history of all of the many metrics we use to monitor the inputs , LLM's and outputs for accuracy and trustworthiness . These will be stored securely on premise or in very secure cloud systems certified by SOC 2 for up to seven years as per regulatory needs . With deadlines fast approaching, businesses need to implement these frameworks to avoid penalties and ensure the safe deployment of AI technologies.

Conclusion: The Road to AI Compliance:

As the 2025 deadlines for the EU AI Act draw closer, businesses need to prioritise AI governance to meet regulatory standards. With the risk of fines and audits, there is no time to waste in preparing for compliance.

Inspeq provides a Responsible AI ops platform that can measure, monitor, and improve the RAI coefficient for any GenAI-powered business process. This will be further enriched with premium services like Inspeq PromptLabs and Inspeq Guardian in 2025 in line with AI regulations in different parts of the world.

For more information on how Inspeq can support your business with AI compliance, visit Inspeq.ai.