LinkedIn·Wednesday, 19 August 2026·7d ago
2 August 2026 changed the AI conversation in the boardroom. The EU AI Act has entered its main application phase. From now on, AI is not…
Joris Claes
CEO @ Spectr | Turning XR/BIM into Real Business Results | Interim Executive & Transformation Leader (15+ yrs) | Scale-up, Restructuring & M&A Advisory | Board Governance
2 August 2026 changed the AI conversation in the boardroom.
The EU AI Act has entered its main application phase. From now on, AI is not only a technology opportunity—it is a business and governance responsibility. Transparency obligations are already applicable, while requirements for many high-risk use cases follow in 2027 and 2028.
𝘉𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘐 𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦.
The real questions are:
- Where will AI create measurable productivity gains?
- Which use cases can unlock new revenue or materially improve customer service?
- Which data, domain expertise and intellectual property become strategic assets?
- Who owns model risk, data quality, vendor dependency and human oversight?
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗜 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆. It requires a board-level AI register, risk classification, explicit ownership and an assurance approach proportionate to the impact of each use case.
The board question I would put on the table is simple:
𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘈𝘐 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 12–18 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵?
The winners will not be the companies that experiment with AI most visibly. They will be the ones that combine ambition with disciplined value creation, governance and execution.
Practical guide: https://lnkd.in/eGHDXvDi
#AIAct #BoardGovernance #DigitalTransformation #InvestmentFunds
AI Act
https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/regulatory-framework-ai
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