Maria Lucia Passador (Bocconi U Law) has posted “The AI Act’s Silent Impact on Corporate Roles” on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
The European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) introduces a profound shift in corporate governance and regulatory compliance, directly impacting directors, board secretaries, compliance officers, in-house counsels, and corporate lawyers. These professionals now face expanded responsibilities in ensuring AI transparency, regulatory compliance, and risk management.
This paper examines the AI Act’s implications for these corporate roles, highlighting the evolving regulatory expectations and the increasing intersection between AI governance, liability frameworks, and corporate strategy. As AI systems become integral to business operations, these figures must navigate complex legal and compliance challenges, ensuring adherence to AI-specific regulatory mandates while aligning corporate policies with broader governance principles. Board secretaries must integrate AI oversight into governance structures, ensuring board-level awareness of AI risks and compliance obligations. Compliance officers have to enforce risk management systems, conduct AI impact assessments, and oversee regulatory reporting. In-house counsels must navigate liability allocation, contractual safeguards, and cross-border compliance, while corporate lawyers play a pivotal role in advising on fiduciary duties, investor disclosures, and AI-driven legal risks. Hence, with stringent obligations on high-risk AI systems, post-market monitoring, and human oversight, the AI Act demands a proactive legal strategy.
Since the AI Act has extraterritorial reach, it mandates compliance for providers and deployers of AI systems whose outputs are utilized within the EU, thereby extending regulatory obligations to non-EU entities. Consequently, its influence transcends European boundaries, shaping international AI governance and impacting businesses and legal professionals across the globe.
This analysis focuses on the structural impact of the AI Act, rather than its granular requirements, offering strategic insights into the necessary adaptations for corporate and legal advisory functions. It examines broader regulatory trends influencing AI oversight, identifies potential challenges in enforcement, and provides a roadmap for corporate professionals to mitigate AI-related risks, align governance frameworks with regulatory mandates, and ensure AI adoption remains legally sound and ethically responsible. Ultimately, it presents a forward-looking perspective on the evolving role of legal and compliance professionals within the AI regulatory landscape.