AI Literacy: How to Plan It in Your Company

01

The Answer in Brief

Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 requires providers and deployers to adopt measures to ensure, to the extent possible, a sufficient level of AI literacy for their staff and for anyone operating AI systems on their behalf.

The plan must take into account the technical knowledge, experience, education and training of the people involved, the context in which the system is used, and the groups of people on whom the system will be used.

02

Who Is Involved and What 'Literacy' Means

The regulation distinguishes between the provider, who develops or places an AI system on the market, and the deployer, who uses it under its own authority in a professional context.

AI literacy is defined as the skills, knowledge and understanding that allow providers, deployers and affected persons to deploy systems in an informed way, aware of opportunities, risks and possible harms.

03

The Sequence for Planning Training

Steps

1. List the people who operate or use AI systems on behalf of the company, not just those who selected them.
2. Assess for each the level of technical knowledge, experience, education and training already possessed.
3. Consider the specific context in which each system is used, not a generic context.
4. Take into account the groups of people on whom the system will have effects, even if external to the company.
5. Define the content and intensity of training in proportion to these variables, and revise it over time.

04

A Hypothetical Example

A medium-sized company introduces an AI tool to filter incoming job applications. The HR team uses it daily, while management only oversees aggregate results.

In this hypothetical case, the literacy plan would distinguish between the two levels: in-depth operational training for those who use the tool every day, and more concise training for those who evaluate outcomes, also considering the impact on candidates assessed by the system.

05

Checks Before Starting the Plan

• Has it been identified who, in the company, actually operates each AI system, not just who approved it?
• Has the technical knowledge and prior experience of these people been recorded?
• Has the context of use of each system been described, not just the system's name?
• Have the groups of people potentially affected by the system's output been identified?
• Is a periodic revise of the plan planned as systems and people involved change?

06

What Management Software Can Support

An AI literacy plan becomes more solid if the basic information is traceable: a list of AI systems in use, the people who operate them, the level of training received, and the date of the last revise.

A company can ask its software partner to configure a registry with these fields, differentiated access roles for those who enter and those who approve data, and a periodic review mechanism that flags when training needs renewal. These are suggested operational choices, not requirements of the regulation itself.

07

Frequently Asked Questions

Who must handle AI literacy? The obligation applies to providers and deployers, who must adopt measures for their own staff and for those operating systems on their behalf.

Is the same level of training needed for everyone? No: the regulation requires considering knowledge, experience, education and the specific context of each person involved.

What exactly does AI literacy mean? Skills, knowledge and understanding that allow informed deployment of systems and awareness of opportunities, risks and possible harms.

08

Next Step

Start by mapping the AI systems already in use and the people who operate them: this is the starting point indicated by the regulation for building a proportionate training plan.