Risk guide
What Is a High-Risk AI System?
A high-risk AI signal usually appears when an AI system affects safety, rights, access, eligibility, employment, education, public services, or other consequential decisions.
Common high-risk signals
| Area | Examples to review carefully |
|---|---|
| Employment | CV screening, worker scoring, task allocation, promotion or dismissal support. |
| Education | Admissions, exam scoring, student assessment, learning-path decisions. |
| Credit and essential services | Creditworthiness, insurance eligibility, benefits, housing access. |
| Biometrics | Identification, categorization, emotion recognition, access control. |
| Healthcare and safety | Clinical triage, patient recommendations, safety-critical monitoring. |
| Public sector and law | Law enforcement, migration, border control, courts, democratic processes. |
What to do if you see a signal
- Do not rely on a marketing label like "AI assistant" or "automation." Look at the real decision impact.
- Document the intended purpose and user group.
- Describe human oversight and escalation.
- Get specialist review before launch if the system affects rights or access.
Official sources
Last reviewed: 2026-07-03.
- EU AI Act Article 6: high-risk classification
- EU AI Act Annex III: high-risk areas
- European Commission high-risk guidelines
Current timing after the AI Omnibus
High-risk classification still matters, but the application date depends on the route into the category. The European Commission's current timeline places Annex III high-risk use cases, such as certain employment, education, biometrics, migration, and essential-service decisions, on December 2, 2027. High-risk systems embedded in regulated products under Annex I are scheduled for August 2, 2028.
A later application date is not a reason to skip classification. Teams need the intended purpose, affected people, deployment market, model provider, data inputs, human review route, and change history before they can tell which provisions apply.
Source review: September 9, 2026. See the European Commission AI Act framework and EUR-Lex Regulation (EU) 2026/1744.