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White paperMichael Clark
The Role Determination Problem
Every EU AI Act obligation attaches to a role, and the role is computed per system from conduct rather than chosen by contract: Article 25 can make a distributor, importer, deployer or other third party the provider of a high-risk system through branding, substantial modification or a change of purpose. Five worked determinations show that the deciding facts sit with engineering and the business rather than legal. A recorded determination for each system, with named triggers and a review date, made while those facts are still knowable, is the recommended control.
Key findings
- Role comes before classification: classification decides which obligations apply to a system, and role decides who owes them.
- The role is computed from conduct, and whether an authority would accept a contractual allocation as moving the provider role is untested.
- Article 25 moves the provider role through branding, substantial modification or a change of purpose, each of which can happen through routine work without any decision to change role.
In the paper
- Role comes before classification
- The role is computed from conduct
- Three ways the role moves, and a fourth less settled
- The handover may not come
- Per system, and recorded
- Why it cannot wait
Michael Clark
Chief Executive Officer, Standard Intelligence
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