The Commission has formally proposed adding the EU AI Act to the list of legislation that continues to apply in Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework, which a joint EU-UK committee will consider at its next meeting.

This decision “is arguably more symbolic than strictly necessary from a commercial standpoint, given that any company in Northern Ireland already intending to place AI products on the EU market must comply with the Regulation’s requirements”, Dr Barry Scannell, a partner in the technology department at Irish law firm William Fry, commented.

However, “the move may raise political implications, as it further imbeds Northern Ireland into the EU’s legal order in a sensitive and fat-moving area of technological regulation”, he noted. “While it avoids a hard border on the island of Ireland, it deepens the regulatory gulf between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, given the deregulation route the UK is taking with AI.”

“This could have the effect of reinforcing a dual rule system that could, over time, challenge the coherence of the UK’s internal market”, he concluded. “It potentially puts an AI company operating in Belfast at a disadvantage to one operating in Brighton.”

The EU AI Act, formally known as Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, came into force in August 2024 and is being phased over two years, adopting a risk-based approach that imposes stricter regulations on high-risk AI systems.