AI’s Role in Evolving Workplace Safety: Does AI Outpace Lawmakers in EU?

In today’s data-driven world, AI isn’t just on the map — it’s the fast lane. From mining critical insights and tracking regulatory shifts to forecasting risk, monitoring employee health and safety metrics, and streamlining reporting, AI is steering the future of EHS, sustainability, and compliance. But as professionals take the wheel, what roadblocks and green lights lie ahead on the journey? This series of articles will help you navigate the future of AI in EHS.

Europe has always been at the forefront of regulatory affairs, so it’s no surprise that back in 2021, the European Parliament touted the preparation of the current Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 Artificial Intelligence Act (EU AI ACT) as the world’s first. These days, the European Committee for Standardization is drafting frameworks to rein in artificial intelligence. Yet even for regulation-savvy Europe, lawmakers are still scrambling to catch up, because AI has burst into our lives rapidly and is evolving at a breakneck speed.

As a result, regulators need to manage many variables at once and also face quick changes. They are being forced to narrow their focus to specific areas, such as safety concerns.

There are indeed many issues to solve with AI: copyright problems, questions of responsibilities, and more, but Europe made a bold move. As part of the EU digital strategy, the European Commission proposed the first EU artificial intelligence law in April 2021, a risk-based AI classification. Artificial intelligence systems that can be used in different applications must be analyzed and classified according to the risk they pose to users. The four different risk levels are paired with AI compliance requirements that must be strictly implemented. In the meantime, the systems also should remain under human oversight rather than automated controls to avoid unintended or harmful outcomes.