Serious incident (AI)

The AI Act defines a serious incident (Article 3(49)) as an incident or malfunction of an AI system that directly or indirectly leads to: death or serious harm to a person's health; serious and irreversible disruption of critical infrastructure; infringement of obligations protecting fundamental rights; or serious harm to property or the environment.

The provider of a high-risk system must report it to the market surveillance authority of the country where it occurred (Article 73) as soon as it establishes a causal or likely link with the system, and no later than 15 days. Deadlines shorten to 2 days for widespread infringements or serious disruption of critical infrastructure, and to 10 days in the event of death.

A deployer that detects a serious incident must inform the provider immediately. It pays to have the procedure ready before you need it.