AI Governance FAQ
What is AI transparency?
Quick answer
AI transparency means making clear when AI is being used, how it works, and what its limitations are. The EU AI Act imposes specific transparency obligations: AI-generated content must be labelled, chatbots must disclose that the user is interacting with AI, and high-risk AI systems must include user-comprehensible information about their operation and limitations. For Irish organisations, AI transparency also means being clear with clients, customers, and employees about when and how AI influences decisions that affect them.
EU AI Act transparency requirements
The EU AI Act imposes several mandatory transparency requirements. AI-generated content — including text, images, audio, and video — must be labelled as AI-generated, with specific requirements for deepfakes and synthetic media. Chatbots and virtual assistants must disclose at the outset that the user is interacting with an AI system, not a human. High-risk AI systems must include instructions for use that explain the system's purpose, performance characteristics, limitations, and the human oversight it requires. Providers of general-purpose AI models must publish summaries of their training data. These are not aspirational — they are legally required from August 2026, enforced by Ireland's 15 National Competent Authorities. For Irish organisations, the transparency labelling obligations in particular require changes to how AI-generated content is produced and distributed.
Transparency in practice
Beyond the Act's mandatory requirements, AI transparency has a broader practical dimension for Irish organisations. Client disclosure: organisations in professional services — legal, financial, consulting — need to consider when and how to disclose to clients that AI has been used in preparing advice or documents. Employee communication: employees need to know what AI is in use, what data it processes, and what their obligations are when using it. Governance documentation: transparency with regulators and auditors means maintaining clear records of AI use, governance activity, and compliance measures. And transparency with the public: organisations that use AI in customer-facing processes need to be prepared to explain those processes clearly. Transparency is not just a compliance checkbox — it is the foundation of trust in an organisation's AI use, and trust is increasingly a competitive differentiator.
Acuity AI helps Irish organisations implement EU AI Act transparency obligations across their operations. See our EU AI Act compliance services.