AI Act for the Working Programmer

TL;DR

This paper provides a practical guide for software professionals to understand and navigate the European AI Act, highlighting its implications for their work and responsibilities.

Contribution

It offers a tailored interpretation of the AI Act specifically for software practitioners, bridging legal requirements and technical practice.

Findings

Clarifies key provisions of the AI Act relevant to programmers

Highlights implications for software development and testing

Provides guidance for compliance and ethical considerations

Abstract

The European AI Act is a new, legally binding instrument that will enforce certain requirements on the development and use of AI technology potentially affecting people in Europe. It can be expected that the stipulations of the Act, in turn, are going to affect the work of many software engineers, software testers, data engineers, and other professionals across the IT sector in Europe and beyond. The 113 articles, 180 recitals, and 13 annexes that make up the Act cover 144 pages. This paper aims at providing an aid for navigating the Act from the perspective of some professional in the software domain, termed "the working programmer", who feels the need to know about the stipulations of the Act.