AI Governance Engineer
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AI system

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For governance, the object the AI definition brings into scope. Under the EU AI Act, a machine-based system designed to operate with some autonomy, possibly adaptive after deployment, that infers from its input how to generate outputs that can influence physical or virtual environments 12. Inference separates it from rule-based software.

Developed in
ch. 11, Four definitions, compared
ch. 18, What counts as an AI system
Chapters
ch. 11, AI Defined · ch. 18, EU AI Act
Source
2 numbered references, listed below

Where it is used

23 chapters of the Body of Knowledge use the term. Each link opens the first section that does.

Patterns that use this term

19 pattern pages use the term; the 10 that use it most:

  • OECD Framework for the Classification of AI Systems

    An OECD tool (2022) for characterising an AI system from a policy perspective along five dimensions: People & Planet, Economic Context, Data & Input, AI…

  • Technical documentation (Annex IV)

    The provider's technical file for a high-risk AI system, drawn up before placing on the market and kept up to date under Article 11: description, development…

  • Deployment Decision Record (DDR)

    The artefact that records the decision to deploy an AI system: objective, the people it acts on, negative space, risk tier and obligations, per-group…

  • Testing in real-world conditions

    Under the EU AI Act, temporary testing of an AI system for its intended purpose outside a laboratory, under a plan approved by the market surveillance…

  • Localisation (by jurisdiction)

    Controlling where an AI system runs and which features it offers in each jurisdiction, with per-jurisdiction rule sets as code, regional instances where…

  • Reasonably foreseeable misuse

    Use of an AI system not in accordance with its intended purpose that may result from reasonably foreseeable human behaviour or interaction with other systems…

  • EU declaration of conformity

    The provider's signed statement, following AI Act Annex V, that a high-risk AI system meets the Act's requirements; drawn up after the conformity assessment…

  • AI system impact assessment

    An assessment of how an AI system and its foreseeable applications may affect individuals, groups and society, performed across the lifecycle and updated as…

Sources

  1. [1] Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act), consolidated text as amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (Digital Omnibus on AI, in force 27 Jul 2026; definitions in Art. 3, incl. 3(1), 3(3) to 3(14), 3(14b), 3(20), 3(22), 3(23), 3(29) to 3(32), 3(49), 3(55) to 3(57), 3(60), 3(61), 3(63), 3(68); Arts. 4, 5, 6 (incl. 6(3) third subparagraph, profiling), 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 22 to 27 (incl. 26(11)), 40, 41, 43, 47, 48, 50, 53 (incl. 53(1)(c)), 55, 57, 60, 72, 73, 86; Annexes I, III, IV). Publications Office of the EU (EUR-Lex). 2026-07-27. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/2026-07-27/eng (verified: primary)
  2. [2] Commission Guidelines on the definition of an artificial intelligence system established by Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (C(2025) 5053 final; non-binding; seven elements of Art. 3(1), inference as the indispensable condition; exclusions). European Commission. 2025-02-06. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/commission-publishes-guidelines-ai-system-definition-facilitate-first-ai-acts-rules-application (verified: primary)

Definitions of legal terms paraphrase the cited text, which governs. Dated statements are as of .

Cite this term

García Aibar, J. (2026). AI system. In AI Governance Engineering: The Thesis & Body of Knowledge (v0.5.0), Glossary. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22956197. https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/ai-system. CC BY 4.0

BibTeX

@misc{aige2026aisystem,
  author  = {Jorge García Aibar},
  title   = {{AI system}},
  note    = {Glossary, AI Governance Engineering: The Thesis \& Body of Knowledge, version 0.5.0},
  year    = {2026},
  doi     = {10.5281/zenodo.22956197},
  url     = {https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/ai-system}
}