The hidden risk: when one feature redefines your entire AI system
“A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.” — This old saying holds true for AI compliance too.
Imagine launching an AI product that feels mostly low risk — simple, smooth, and user-friendly. But there’s one feature in your system, like biometric authentication or facial recognition, that changes everything.
That one high-risk module triggers full high-risk classification for your entire AI system under the EU AI Act, bringing heavy compliance obligations.
Can one module put your entire AI system at risk?
The EU AI Act clearly warns: if any part of your AI system is classified as high-risk, the entire system will be treated as high-risk. This means that even a single high-risk feature, such as biometric identification or credit scoring, can subject your entire product to the strictest compliance requirements.
As a result, your system must meet additional demands for testing, documentation, and human oversight. Development timelines may slow down, costs can rise significantly, and legal risks increase. Most importantly, your product launch could be delayed or even blocked from entering the EU market.
By systematically analyzing each part of your AI product and addressing risks at the design stage, you can prevent one module from triggering full high-risk classification. Here’s how to take control step by step.
How to prevent the domino effect?
Step 1– Map all AI components: Identify every module, input, and function in your AI system. Maintain a detailed system architecture to ensure no hidden risks are overlooked.
Step 2– Spot high-risk elements early: Analyze each component for potential high-risk features like biometric identification, credit scoring, remote surveillance, or profiling. Refer to Annex III of the EU AI Act for official classifications.
Step 3– Plan compliance upfront: Integrate risk assessments, legal reviews, and regulatory alignment from the beginning of your product lifecycle. Build compliance into the system design.
Step 4– Conduct a fundamental rights impact assessment (FRIA): Evaluate the system’s potential impact on user rights and freedoms. Document findings and mitigation strategies to meet EU AI Act requirements.
Step 5– Document conformity assessments: Maintain complete technical documentation, including risk management files, system traceability logs, and lifecycle records to demonstrate regulatory alignment.
Step 6– Monitor system performance post-deployment: Set up automated and manual monitoring for errors, misuse, or risk events. Enable incident logging and create feedback loops for continuous improvement.
Step 7– Ensure human oversight is built-In: Design clear oversight mechanisms for critical AI decisions. Assign responsible personnel and create fallback controls to override AI when needed.
Step 8– Maintain robust data governance: Use diverse and representative datasets. Minimise data, ensure anonymisation, and implement privacy and security controls in accordance with GDPR and EU AI Act obligations.
Why does this matter to your business?
By identifying “domino pieces” early, you gain control over your AI compliance journey — saving time, money, and headaches.
- Under the EU AI Act, you can face heavy fines (up to €35 million or 7% of global turnover). Identify every module, input, and function in your AI system. Maintain a detailed system architecture to ensure no hidden risks are overlooked.
- Increased regulatory hurdles, including mandatory third-party assessments, documentation, and post-market monitoring.
- Delays in product launch due to non-compliance findings late in development.
- Reputational damage and loss of stakeholder trust if your system is found to infringe user rights.
- Loss of investor confidence, especially for startups and scale-ups in regulated sectors like health, finance, or education.
Are you ready to stay ahead?
At EthiAI, we help you detect high-risk modules and navigate complex EU AI Act requirements easily. Schedule a demo today and protect your AI innovations from the domino effect.
AUTHORED BY
Junior Developer