AI literacy

AI literacy is defined in Article 3(56) of the EU AI Act as the "skills, knowledge and understanding that allow providers, deployers and affected persons, taking into account their respective rights and obligations in the context of this Regulation, 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."

Article 4 sets the duty. The original text, applicable since 2 February 2025, required providers and deployers to take measures to ensure "a sufficient level of AI literacy" of their staff. Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, the Digital Omnibus on AI, replaced Article 4 and entered into force on 27 July 2026. The amended Article 4(1) says that providers and deployers "shall take measures to support the development of AI literacy of their staff and other persons dealing with the operation and use of AI systems on their behalf", taking into account their knowledge, experience, education and training, the context of use, and the people the systems are used on. It adds: "This obligation does not require providers or deployers to guarantee any specific level of AI literacy of any individual."

The amended duty is a duty of conduct. An organization must take proportionate measures and be able to show them, and it does not have to guarantee a result for each person. Under Article 4(2), the Commission and the Member States support providers and deployers, in particular SMEs, and the Commission publishes practical examples of how to comply. Under Article 4(3), the European Artificial Intelligence Board adopts recommendations to promote AI literacy. Article 99(4) lists no fine for Article 4; Member States set their own penalty rules under Article 99(1).

In practice, the measures follow the role. A reviewer who approves an agent's actions needs to understand the agent's limits and the automation bias named in Article 14(4)(b), the tendency to rely too much on a system's output. An operator needs to know how to stop a run. A business owner needs to know what the agent may and may not do. Record the training given, the material used and the date for each role, and review it when the system changes.