Keywords, concepts, issues: A citizen-centric analysis of the EU AI Act

This study offers a citizen-centric interpretation of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (2024), the world’s first comprehensive AI law to date. Much like the GDPR’s regulation of big data in 2018, the AI Act underscores the European Union’s commitment to regulating technological advancements and their associated risks. The document is not only complex in its drafting but also deals with socially and ethically sensitive issues. To demonstrate how explaining tech law to ordinary citizens in accessible language can be integrated with a critical perspective in support of democratic engagement, the analysis employs a corpus-assisted, critical discursive approach, enriched with interdisciplinary insights. It cross-references keywords and key phrases extracted through the software Sketch Engine with the legal definitions provided in the Act to address critical issues regarding the use of AI. It aims to outline the main concepts of the Act, discuss the impact of AI in societal contexts, and provide preliminary observations to encourage reflection and debate in academic and public spheres.