{"id":3103,"date":"2026-07-17T19:07:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T17:07:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/balin-legal.de\/?p=3103"},"modified":"2026-07-17T19:07:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T17:07:31","slug":"48-ai-in-companies-new-organizational-and-training-obligations-for-managing-directors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/balin-legal.de\/en\/48-ai-in-companies-new-organizational-and-training-obligations-for-managing-directors\/","title":{"rendered":"(48) AI in Companies: New Organizational and Training Obligations for Managing Directors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used in companies \u2013 for example in recruitment, customer service, production control, or decision-support systems. What many management teams underestimate is that the use of AI is not merely a technical issue, but directly affects the statutory duties of managing directors and executive board members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the entry into force of the EU Regulation on Artificial Intelligence (AI Regulation \/ AI Act), the legal requirements have become significantly more specific and stringent. This gives rise to new organizational, supervisory, and training obligations for company leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Use of AI Is a Management Decision<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The decision whether and how AI is used within a company falls squarely within the core responsibilities of corporate management. Managing directors must make and take responsibility for this decision themselves. While they may seek expert advice, they may not fully delegate responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Particularly important: even merely tolerating the use of AI by employees \u2013 for example through freely available tools such as chatbots or translation programs \u2013 can be legally relevant. Company leaders must know where, for what purposes, and with which risks AI is being used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The EU AI Regulation: What Companies Must Now Consider<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The AI Regulation has been in force since August 2024 and is being applied gradually. Since 2 February 2025, key obligations have already applied, particularly with regard to prohibited AI systems and so-called AI literacy (AI competence).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Regulation follows a risk-based approach. Depending on the area of use, AI systems are assigned to different risk categories, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>prohibited AI systems posing an unacceptable risk (e.g. certain manipulative or surveillance systems),<\/li><li>high-risk AI systems (including many applications in the HR sector),<\/li><li>AI systems with low or minimal risk.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Violations may be sanctioned with substantial fines \u2013 up to EUR 35 million or up to 7% of global annual turnover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Obligation to Ensure Adequate AI Competence<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the most important and frequently overlooked innovations is Article 4 of the AI Regulation. Under this provision, companies must ensure that all persons who operate or professionally use AI systems possess a sufficient level of AI competence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This obligation applies:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>regardless of the size of the company,<\/li><li>to all AI systems, not only high-risk AI,<\/li><li>directly since 2 February 2025.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>AI competence does not mean technical knowledge alone. In particular, employees must understand:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>how AI systems function,<\/li><li>which opportunities and risks are associated with their use,<\/li><li>how to critically assess outputs (e.g. to avoid incorrect decisions),<\/li><li>which legal boundaries apply (data protection, discrimination, protection of trade secrets).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Who Is Subject to the Training Obligation?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In principle, all persons who use AI within the company or are responsible for its use must be trained, in particular:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>employees and managers,<\/li><li>external service providers, insofar as they use AI on behalf of the company,<\/li><li>members of the management board themselves.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In practice, it is often advisable to provide basic training for all employees, supplemented by more in-depth training for specific functions, such as HR, IT, management, or the legal department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Content of a Legally Compliant AI Training Program<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An effective training program should cover, among other things, the following topics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>identifying and classifying AI systems,<\/li><li>fundamentals of how AI works,<\/li><li>the legal framework (AI Regulation, GDPR, employment law),<\/li><li>dealing with risks such as bias, discrimination, and \u201challucinations,\u201d<\/li><li>requirements relating to transparency, human oversight, and documentation,<\/li><li>internal company rules and best practices for the use of AI.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The goal is to enable employees to use AI in a knowledgeable, responsible, and legally compliant manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Liability Risks for Managing Directors<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The obligation to ensure adequate AI competence is part of the general duty of legality and organization incumbent upon company management. If this duty is breached, the following risks may arise:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>personal liability of the managing director for organizational fault,<\/li><li>regulatory sanctions and fines,<\/li><li>follow-on issues under data protection and employment law,<\/li><li>significant reputational damage.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Using AI without clear rules, training, and oversight therefore entails substantial legal risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Conclusion: AI Requires Clear Structures and Legal Guidance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Companies should approach the use of AI strategically and in a legally compliant manner. This includes, in particular:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>taking inventory of all AI systems in use,<\/li><li>conducting a legal risk assessment,<\/li><li>establishing training and governance structures,<\/li><li>implementing clear internal policies for the use of AI.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Managing directors who take action now not only create legal certainty, but also lay the foundation for the responsible and successful use of AI within their companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Note: This article does not claim to be exhaustive and does not constitute individual legal advice. It is intended solely for general information. For specific matters, you should seek legal counsel.<\/em> If you require legal advice, please feel free to contact your Hamburg-based law firm <strong>BALIN LEGAL<\/strong> at <a href=\"mailto:info@balin-legal.de\"><strong>info@balin-legal.de<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used in companies \u2013 for example in recruitment, customer service, production control, or decision-support systems. What many management teams underestimate is that the use of AI is not merely a technical issue, but directly affects the statutory duties of managing directors and executive board members. With the entry into [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3086,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[299,305,306,144],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"2.5.16","language":"en","enabled_languages":["de","en","fr","ru"],"languages":{"de":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"fr":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"ru":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/balin-legal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3103"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/balin-legal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/balin-legal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/balin-legal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/balin-legal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3103"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/balin-legal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3103\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3104,"href":"https:\/\/balin-legal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3103\/revisions\/3104"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/balin-legal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/balin-legal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/balin-legal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/balin-legal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}