On August 1, 2024, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (the AI Act) entered into force, establishing the new EU regulatory framework for artificial intelligence (AI). This has reignited the debate on whether EU legislation support or, conversely, constrains innovation. Public and academic narratives about the AI Act’s market impact often overlook a set of innovation-oriented measures provide by the law that could at least partially compensate for the potential restrictive effects arising from compliance obligations. This paper offers a cross-sectional study of the AI Act aimed at systematically identifying and examining those measures that are capable of supporting technological development, particularly in the business and workplace context. Methodologically, it introduces two conceptual categories to frame these measures, distinguishing between “explicit innovation measures” and “implicit innovation measures”. Building on legal doctrine and empirical evidence from other regulated sectors, the article also advances a preliminary assessment of the likely effectiveness of these measures. The study also considers the proposed amendments to the AI Act contained in the Digital Omnibus on AI.
Through the Artificial Intelligence Act: cross-sectional study on a pro-innovation law
Gabriele Franco
2026-01-01
Abstract
On August 1, 2024, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (the AI Act) entered into force, establishing the new EU regulatory framework for artificial intelligence (AI). This has reignited the debate on whether EU legislation support or, conversely, constrains innovation. Public and academic narratives about the AI Act’s market impact often overlook a set of innovation-oriented measures provide by the law that could at least partially compensate for the potential restrictive effects arising from compliance obligations. This paper offers a cross-sectional study of the AI Act aimed at systematically identifying and examining those measures that are capable of supporting technological development, particularly in the business and workplace context. Methodologically, it introduces two conceptual categories to frame these measures, distinguishing between “explicit innovation measures” and “implicit innovation measures”. Building on legal doctrine and empirical evidence from other regulated sectors, the article also advances a preliminary assessment of the likely effectiveness of these measures. The study also considers the proposed amendments to the AI Act contained in the Digital Omnibus on AI.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
