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Inference (AI Act sense)

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The capability to derive outputs from input by learning from data or reasoning over encoded knowledge, rather than by executing rules people wrote. The Commission treats it as the indispensable condition that separates an AI system from conventional software 1.

Developed in
ch. 11, EU AI Act Article 3(1) and the Commission guidelines
Chapters
ch. 11, AI Defined
Source
1 numbered reference, listed below

Where it is used

The term is not used under this name in running prose; the sections listed under "Developed in" treat it.

  • AI system

    For governance, the object the AI definition brings into scope.

Sources

  1. [1] 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). Inference (AI Act sense). In AI Governance Engineering: The Thesis & Body of Knowledge (v0.5.0), Glossary. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22956197. https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/inference-ai-act-sense. CC BY 4.0

BibTeX

@misc{aige2026inferenceaiactsense,
  author  = {Jorge García Aibar},
  title   = {{Inference (AI Act sense)}},
  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/inference-ai-act-sense}
}