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Glossary termPublished inEU AI Act

Serious incident

What does "Serious incident" mean under the EU AI Act?

An incident or malfunctioning of an AI system that directly or indirectly leads to any of the following:

  • (a) the death of a person, or serious harm to a person’s health
  • (b) a serious and irreversible disruption of the management or operation of critical infrastructure
  • (c) the infringement of obligations under Union law intended to protect fundamental rights
  • (d) serious harm to property or the environment

Defined in / by

Last updated: 22 August 2026.

Regulations

  • EU Artificial Intelligence Act (EU AI Act)

    The EU AI Act is Regulation (EU) 2024/1689. On 2 August 2026 its transparency rules and enforcement machinery took effect, but the high-risk regime for credit scoring and life and health insurance pricing did not: Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 moved it to 2 December 2027. Prohibitions have applied since February 2025.

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