Since November 2022 and the launch of ChatGPT, it has been hard to ignore the exponential rise of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) across all aspects of our lives. Whether it be the customer service chatbots we interact with when trying to buy goods and services online or the AI Agents inbuilt into the software we use in a work context, AI is everywhere – but how much do we really understand it and why has it become so much more important that we do?

Regulatory Compliance: Implementing the EU AI Act

As of February 2025, the EU AI Act requires that all providers and deployers ensure that their employees, contractors, board of directors and any other stakeholder using an AI system on their behalf, have a sufficient level of AI Literacy to allow them “to make an informed deployment of AI systems, as well as to gain awareness about the opportunities and risks of AI and possible harm it can cause.”

To implement this obligation in practice, organisations have a number of issues to contend with, including:

• Differences in Knowledge Levels: To ensure that all those involved in the development, deployment and use of AI systems have a sufficient level of literacy needed to perform their role and responsibilities, organisations must first gauge current AI Literacy levels and then provide training courses which are tailored to fit each audience. To further complicate matters. there is likely to be significant variation in AI literacy levels more broadly depending on the role of each individual within their organisation and how adept they are at using new technologies.
• AI Actor Classification: The role the organisation plays in the AI ecosystem determines which obligations shall apply to them under the EU AI Act. Put simply organisations that develop AI systems inhouse or who engage third parties to create bespoke AI-based solutions, will be expected to have much more granular and detailed AI literacy programmes than those who simply procure off-the-shelf AI-tooling.
• AI Uses and Use Cases: The actual and potential uses for AI-based solutions are limitless, and so, therefore, are the potential risks arising. The greater the risk that an AI system poses, the more informed users need to be on the appropriate guardrails which must be applied to ensure the AI system is used ethically and responsibly, as well as their duties to oversee and validate the AI-generated output.

There is no one size fits all approach to AI literacy, and thus, no prescribed format for what an AI Literacy programme should look like. Instead, the European Commission has published a Living Repository of AI Literacy Practices to encourage collaboration and learning by sharing the measures already implemented by those organisations who have voluntarily signed the AI Pact. While replicating these measures does not equate to compliance with the EU AI Act, they provide a useful source of information and peer benchmarking data for those organisations in scope of the EU AI Act.

As the compliance deadline for AI Literacy obligations has already passed, all organisations who have not yet begun to roll out relevant trainings and support should seek to do so as a matter of priority and at least before the 3 August 2026 when the supervision and enforcement rules shall apply.

Driving Strategy: Seeking Meaningful Returns on AI Investment

The uptake of AI tooling by employees varies drastically across different industries and sectors. While some continue are slower to adopt or are resisting the change, others are already seeing significant cuts in their workforce as AI agents take the place of human employees.

As Ginni Rometty, the former CEO of IBM said:

“AI will not replace humans, but those who use AI will replace those who don’t.”

For those organisations where AI adoption is still in its infancy, full advantage should be taken of the AI Literacy Programme roll-out to engage meaningfully with employees on how AI may impact them and their role, how best they should engage with AI and to foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement. In this way, not only can the programme serve to train and upskill users of AI systems more broadly, it can also be used to encourage, amongst other things, the:

• Identification of potential new use-cases.
• Sharing of ideas and best practices to improve user experiences; and
• Design and development of AI-enabled operating models.

By providing the necessary support and encouragement to embrace the changes made possible by AI, the organisation is more likely to see positives impacts on their productivity, process efficiency and the level of return on the organisation’s investment in AI technology and governance. AI Literacy, therefore, is not simply another mandated compliance training but a critical step towards achieving an organisation’s evolving Corporate Strategy.

How can we Help?

Arthur Cox continues to work with a wide range of clients in the design, development and delivery of their AI Literacy Programmes.

Whether you are looking for market leading legal expertise or the support of highly experienced governance specialists and consultants, Arthur Cox can help you wherever you are on your AI journey.

If you would like to discuss any points raised in this article further, please do not hesitate to contact your usual Arthur Cox contact(s), or any member of the Technology and Innovation or Governance and Consulting Services Groups.