🚨 IMPORTANT: The EU's first AI standard has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union! Here’s what companies need to know: The standard EN 18286:2026, “Artificial intelligence - Quality management system for EU AI Act regulatory purposes,” specifies requirements and provides guidance for defining, implementing, and maintaining a quality management system for organizations that provide high-risk AI systems. The European standardization organizations CEN and CENELEC had already published the details of this harmonized standard earlier, but the European Commission still had to formally assess whether it met the AI Act’s intended objectives and legal requirements. That assessment has now been completed, as this standard was published today in the Official Journal of the EU. In practice, companies can apply this standard and benefit from a presumption of conformity with the EU AI Act’s quality management system requirements, as established in Article 17(1) points “a” through “m.” As a reminder, this article will come into force on December 2, 2027 for high-risk AI systems under Annex III and on August 2, 2028 for high-risk AI systems under Annex I, according to Article 113(c). This is the first European standard on AI to be published in the EU Official Journal. Additional standards covering the following areas are also expected to be published: - risk management - governance and quality of datasets - record keeping - transparency - human oversight - accuracy - robustness - cybersecurity - quality management - conformity assessment This is great news for everyone. The EU AI Act's standards are voluntary, but they will help increase legal certainty, foster innovation, standardize legal requirements, and accelerate compliance. However, the challenges in AI are only beginning, and every company developing or deploying AI should focus on strengthening its AI governance and safety practices. I will keep you posted. 👉 READ my full article (and join my newsletter's 102,200+ subscribers) below.