What is AI system?
An AI system is a machine-based system that operates with some degree of autonomy and, from the input it receives, infers how to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations or decisions that can influence physical or virtual environments. This is the approach taken by the EU AI Act and the OECD.
Article 3 of the EU AI Act contains the legal definition and the OECD uses very similar wording. Classic rule-based software that does not infer outputs falls outside it. In governance work the term usually means a specific use of AI in a specific context, for example a CV-screening tool, rather than the underlying model alone.
Source: Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (the EU AI Act), EUR-Lex. Last reviewed . General information, not legal advice.