Fundamentals

AI Safety

Definition

A multi-disciplinary research field concerned with preventing AI systems from causing unintended harm—including technical failures, misuse, and long-term societal risks. In the EU, AI safety is operationalised through the AI Act's risk classification and conformity assessment requirements.

Related Terms

AI Alignment

The research and engineering discipline of ensuring that AI systems pursue goals and exhibit behaviours that match human intentions and values. Misalignment risks range from models following instructions too literally to more speculative long-term risks discussed in AI safety literature.

AI Governance

The framework of policies, processes, roles, and controls that ensure AI systems are developed, deployed, and used responsibly and in compliance with applicable law. AI governance spans ethics, bias, privacy, security, and regulatory compliance across the model lifecycle.

Kill Switch

A technical mechanism that allows an AI system to be safely halted, overridden, or disabled by authorised humans at any time. The EU AI Act requires high-risk AI systems to incorporate such controls as part of their human oversight design.

Related Services

Eu Ai Act Compliance

Knowing the Terms Is Step One. Applying Them Is Step Two.

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